TRADERS in Liskeard reported an enjoyable afternoon with Mary Portas, Queen of Shops, as she said goodbye to the town in her filming role for her new Channel 4 television series to be shown next year.

The new Block outlet, in the former Cornish Times building on Bay Tree Hill, now The Town Shop, was officially opened by Mary, and was one of her successes in filling vacant premises. After talks with landlords, she was able to offer shops rent-free for a year in a bid to get new traders into the town.

Tara Ashe, from St Germans, where her Block homeware and gifts are designed and made, said she was happy to be in Liskeard.

'We are a wholesale company and this is our first venture on to the high street since we formed 12 years ago,' said Tara. 'We would never have thought of coming to Liskeard, but rent-free for a year was an attractive proposition, so we thought we would give it a go. We are hoping we can be successful enough to stay here after our initial year.'

Mary also judged a shop window competition during the fun afternoon, awarding first prize to The Book Shop on The Parade, the design being the work of Joely Thomas, an A-level art student at Liskeard School.

The Traders Association and the Town Team are working towards keeping alive the renewed interest in Liskeard, which has been helped by Mary Portas.

The 'Friday Till 6' idea, which started last week, now involves up to 30 different shops and businesses in the town, including the library, staying open each Friday until 6pm.

The Town Team executive has agreed to help the traders by providing funding for publicity materials.

Michele Laouenan, of The Book Shop, who is the late opening co-ordinator, said it will run for at least six months.

'We hope even more businesses will join us,' she said.

The Town Team will also be working with landlords to put up posters in empty shop windows on a Christmas theme, and it is organising a Vintage Christmas Market in the Public Hall on Saturday, December 8.

A key element of Liskeard's winning Portas bid was the development of a mobile phone-enabled website to promote offers by local traders and reasons for visiting the town. A survey of local businesses has been carried out to find out what they would like to see on the website. More than 50 responses have so far been received.