One in five businesses in Alton’s most high-profile shopping area is a restaurant, café, takeaway or coffee shop.

The Herald took a stroll down the High Street - and Normandy Street as far as Victoria Road - on April 4 to see what the town centre had to offer people looking to spend some money.

There were 107 businesses trading, with 21 of them being either a restaurant, café, takeaway or coffee shop.

The next most common sight was a hairdresser, with nine shops devoted to that, followed by charity shops (seven), pubs (five - including The Crown Hotel, currently closed), opticians and hearing care (five) and estate agents (five).

Alton has four banks and building societies - TSB, Santander, Nationwide and Newbury - four nail bars, four chemists and health and beauty stores, and four firms providing solicitors, financial planning and insurance.

There are three supermarkets - M&S Food Hall, the Co-op and Iceland - plus three businesses devoted to osteopathy, chiropractic and podiatry.

Also to be found are two convenience stores, plus two shops each catering for dry cleaning, mobile phones, clothes, betting, books and tattoos.

There is one gym, butcher, jeweller, yoga centre, florist, undertaker, art gallery, upholsterer, refill shop and asbestos management firm, plus shops selling carpets, cards, shoes, homeware, hardware, camping gear, ice cream, health food, and model railways, racing cars and planes.

Fourteen premises are currently vacant - one in eight of the buildings used for commercial purposes.

In some cases old signs remind shoppers of what used to be there - Papa Johns pizza takeaway, Get In My Deli sandwich shop, The Old Curiosity Shop, Travelbag travel agents, M&Co.

The former M&Co shop is earmarked for the Loungers pub-restaurant chain, but none of the other 13 deserted properties are showing hints of new businesses coming in to occupy them.