THERE was a calm and collected feel to Oswestry on Monday as shops reopened to customers for the first time in several months.

After visiting a shopping centre on Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he did not know whether to expect “a flood or a trickle” when the shops reopened but said that he hoped people would return in sensible numbers.

That certainly seemed to be the case in Oswestry, with the town centre normally busy, but the expected large queues failed to materialise.

There were queues at the various town centre banks but the only shop to have long waiting times to enter was Sports Direct in Cross Street, with a queue of around 30 people on Monday morning.

The queues at the sportswear retailer reflected that of many towns and cities around the country, with low-price retailers such as Primark and TK Maxx also having large queues.

Inspector Tracy Ryan from West Mercia Police was keeping an eye on things throughout the morning, and encouraged shoppers to stay home if possible.

She said: "Lengthy queues reported outside reopened shops in the area. Please be patient queuing and considerate to staff.

"If planning to go shopping consider whether you'd be better off ordering online or waiting for the initial rush to quieten down."