“Just look at it, this is the middle of the summer holidays,” says Phillip Garnsey, the exasperated co-owner of the Oggy Oggy pasty company, as he surveys an empty high street in Torquay.
Just a few hundred metres up the road in the Devon town, the juxtaposition could not be more stark as families relax on the beach, enjoying one of the first sunny days of August, and paddleboarders make their way through the crisp blue ocean. Squeals can be heard from the nearby funfair as children play on the rides and later beg their parents for ice-creams or candy floss, while young couples browse inviting street food at the market.
