A RIVAL town is hitting back after Tendring tried to cash in on Christmas.

Tendring Council is trying to lure frustrated shoppers away from Colchester in the run-up to the festive season.

It hoped shoppers fed up with forking out for parking and getting stuck in traffic in the district’s nearest rival town would be tempted across the border by a month-long advertising campaign. 

A scheme that lets drivers park for free in most council-run car parks from 3pm has been splashed across the back of buses in Colchester.

But retailers in Colchester have hit back with their own marketing campaign, which includes large outdoor billboards in Clacton, Harwich and Manningtree.

Culver Square, Lion Walk, Red Lion Yard, Williams and Griffin and Colchester Council joined forces for the first time to try to attract people into the area.

Lion Walk and Red Lion Yard deputy manager Louise Jensen said: “We want people that don’t normally come to Colchester to give it a try – we’re sure that once they’ve been once, they will come again and again.”

None of the groups would say how much money they had put towards the campaign.

Meanwhile, Tendring’s town centres are bucking national trends in terms of the number of empty shops.

Less than five per cent of outlets in Clacton, Frinton and Brightlingsea town centres are standing empty.

The figure rises to ten per cent in Walton. The latest figures for October and November and are well below the national average of more than 12 per cent.