TAUNTON town centre was buzzing yesterday as non-essential shops opened on a Saturday for the first time since lockdown.

There were more than 4,000 people in the main shopping area for the two hours either side of midday.

There were already 2,000 in the centre by 9am, more than doubling to more than 4,000 between 11am and 1pm.

By 2pm there were only slightly fewer than 4,000 visitors and that total didn't dip to below 3,000 until about 4pm.

And by 5.30pm there were still about 1,000 people in the town centre.