Shoppers rushed back to Abingdon town centre’s boutiques, hairdressers, pubs and other non-essential shops as retailers opened their doors again for the first time in months.

The snowy start on Monday morning did not put locals off and the town centre was full of people eager to go shopping, get a haircut and even try on wedding dresses.

Book seller Imogen Hargreaves was among the retailers glad to be serving customers face to face again at her shop, Mostly Books.

She said: “I have genuinely missed having customers in the shop, even though we have been open for click and collect, it is not the same.

“While we have been helping customers find books over email, actually having them in the shop and chatting to them and finding out what they like and what they are looking for is much more personal face to face.

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“I like getting to know the customers and you just don’t have the same interaction online.”

Only six customers are allowed in the book shop at any one time and there is a one-way system in place.

The book seller explained that they had spent the last week cleaning the shop and reorganising all the books ready for a busy first day back.

Ms Hargreaves said: “It has been really busy today. A lot of our regular customers have been popping in to say hello, and children have come in holding their book tokens which they have had since Christmas.”

Ellie Haddock is a Florist at Fabulous Flowers, and she was also pleased to see some friendly faces.

She said: “It is nice to see our regular customers and the people that come from afar to see us.”

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Queues snaked around the streets outside hairdressers and barber shops as people scrambled to get a professional haircut at long last.

The market was also bustling and people took the opportunity to enjoy a coffee in Costa’s outside seating area.

Utopia Beautique in Abingdon had been closed since the start of the lockdown in January, and receptionist Ellie said she is happy to be back.

She said the beauty salon is fully booked for most of the week and they are offering all the same treatments as before, including nails, facials, and waxing.

The receptionist said she is personally most looking forward to going back to the pub, and on a shopping trip to find herself a new handbag.

Shopper Kerri Wilson, from Carterton, had been waiting to go wedding dress hunting since October last year. She postponed her original wedding date after having a baby and is now hoping to be able to schedule the big day for October this year.

Miss Wilson had come to The One Stop Wedding Shop in search of the perfect dress and was excited to finally be able to try some of them on.

She said: “I’ve just been looking at dresses online which is not the same really.”