'Colchester M&S had more visitors than Col U had fans at game'

Sir Bob Russell headed to Colchester’s town centre on the weekend to count exactly how many shoppers entered Marks and Spencer, in the High Street.

During its ten hours of trading, the former mayor estimates 3,100 customers used the store, slightly more than Colchester United’s home match attendance of 3,094.

Sir Bob’s conclusions were drawn from the number of people he saw enter the supermarket over a three-hour period between 9am and 12pm.

He then used the findings to calculate roughly how many people on average would have shopped at Marks and Spencer over the course of a full day.

“I do not pretend it is 100 per cent accurate, but I am confident it is in the ballpark of being accurate,” added Sir Bob, who had lunch in the M&S café.

“I suspect it is higher but I am deliberately trying to be objective rather than be accused of exaggerating.

“Shutting a store with such a large footfall and loyal customer base discarded in a cavalier fashion, is crass – we’re witnessing the unacceptable face of retail capitalism.

“The majority of the customers I counted are not those who will be transferring to the new store at the already gridlocked, out-of-town shopping locations at Stanway.”