TRADERS in Wellington are going the extra mile for shoppers next month.

Almost 20 town centre shops are opening late mid-week or mounting promotions for Christmas shopping in a campaign orchestrated by the Wellington Business Association (WBA). Its chairman, Keith

Wheatley, said: “We all know that people are going to spend more next month, whether on food and drink or gifts, and it’s important that as much of that money as possible stays in the local economy.

"We’ve found some money to pay for 6,000 flyers going to every home in the TA21 postcode plus an online campaign via social media to let everyone know that Wellington is open.

“Sally Hooper at Mad Dog does a great job getting the South Street shops organised, so we just helped out by spreading the campaign to other traders. Not many other market towns have such a great collection of independent shops, so it’s the old story. Use them or lose them.”