On a glorious summer's day in Bolton town centre, the streets are filled with people enjoying their lunch in the warm sunshine. The shops should also be bustling, but walking inside Crompton Place shopping centre, it feels like a ghost town. It's dark and almost eerie. Boarded up stores are a stark reminder of what was before.
Local people here say the town centre hasn't been the same since the rapid decline of the high street - which has seen shopping staples such as Debenhams, BHS and C&A vanish for good, alongside iconic businesses like Prestons of Bolton's flagship jewellery store.
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