THE Debenhams Warrington store was one of 38 to reopen in England today, Wednesday after a dramatic U-turn saw the shop saved from closing permanently.

Debenhams initially said the Warrington shop would not reopen after lockdown but council bosses got involved to negotiate a deal with landlords Golden Square.

Council chiefs went along to support the reopening today along with Ian Cox, from Golden Square

A spokesman said: "Debenhams has implemented a raft of measures to keep our colleagues and customers safe, including installing 2,000 perspex screens at tills, providing staff with visors and gloves and implementing queue management processes, which have been well received at our initial openings."

Steven Cook, managing director at Debenhams, said: “Longer-term, there will be plenty of issues to be resolved, notably around unsustainable rates bills, if the high street is going to get back onto a sustainable footing.”