Peterborough newsagent dresses up her shop in style

Marie Tweedie bought Werrington Village News, in Church Street, a year ago but despaired at the slow turnover of traditional goods - such as pet food and shampoo - and decided a new flourish was required.

She said: “The newspaper side of the business does really well. We sell papers to more than 200 people a day.

“But goods like pet food and shampoo just didn’t really move off the shelves.

“I’m very much into 1940s and 50s music and fashion and decided that I would use some of the space to sell clothing, shoes and bags from that era.

“I contacted wholesalers who said they could supply me and since then the idea has really taken off.

She said: “It has been gradually building up and I have even held several open days, which have helped bring in a lot of people.

“Some people have even turned up on scooters and we had a good number of them parked outside the shop.

“Customers seem to really like it.

“Some of them have even described it as a little Camden Market.”

Ms Tweedie has called the retro-side of the business At Last and it comes complete with fitting rooms for customers who want to try on the clothing before buying.

Now she is hoping to grow interest from further afield in her business venture.

She said: “At the moment it is mostly my original customers who are coming in, which is great but it would be lovely to bring in custom from other areas.”