SPENDING in Blackburn and Burnley town centres has bounced back and now exceeds pre-pandemic levels despite a lack of customers.

New figures from the Centre for Cities think-tank show that spending in Blackburn was at 106 per cent of levels before coronavirus even though footfall was only 57 per cent of that pre-lockdown.

They show that in Burnley spending was at 102 per cent of prior levels and footfall at 72 per cent.

While the two centres were amongst the best performers in the North-West, a similar pattern was evident in other locations.

Allan Cadman, North-West chair of insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 which helped prepare the statistics, said: “Spending in town and city centres has recovered strongly since non-essential shops re-opened in April, despite footfall remaining low and some well-known names having closed.

“The absence of office workers may have had less impact than expected as they tend to spend less than other visitors. Town centres may have benefited from more domestic trade as people have stayed in the UK.

“However, the question is whether footfall will ever return to previous levels."