A couple in Reading have spoken out on their disdain for the town centre as of late, suggesting that the death of the high street saga is to blame for its demise.

Francis and Paul Tandy, who have lived in the town for 50 years, said that Reading today is an “absolute shambles.”

Mr Tandy said “It’s very disappointing because we’ve lived here for such a long time and it never used to be this derelict.”

“There was never shops boarded up and nowhere near as many coffee shops. It was so nice to come into town in those days,” Mrs Tandy added.

She said that since The Oracle came along, it killed the rest of the other businesses in the centre.

“I love The Oracle, but even The Oracle is struggling now with loads of empty shops. It was a big shame when the House of Fraser closed and Debenhams because that’s a reason to come into town.”

The couple said that they don’t really go into small little shops because when they go shopping they would prefer to browse a department store.

Mrs Tandy said that she could easily spend the whole outing in John Lewis or Marks and Spencers, and that it’s a shame that there’s really only two of these places left.

“I just find it so dirty now,” she said.

However, the couple agreed that they do still like Reading town centre. “We still come here to do our shopping and we go out for a meal,” Mr Tandy said.

“But we’d like a bit more renovation. It’s the outside of the shops that aren’t inviting people in because they are so shabby and dirty,” Mrs Tandy said.

“It’s like come on guys get your act together and make up the outsides. Isn’t it about time John Lewis added a bit of lovely shopping experience inside instead of being so boring.”

Mrs Tandy explained that when she goes to London she find the shopping experiencing fabulous and believes that we can have that here in Reading.

She said that people need to take more pride in the stores, like investing in beautiful entrances, and small counters offering testers among other things.

“There’s so much more the shops here could do. It’s such a large area that it covers people now consider whether it’s worth coming to Reading, and many opt to go to Bracknell instead.”