The leader of Douglas Council has praised shoppers for doing their business in the high street rather than online.

David Christian says people have responded to a plea from the authority to help retailers who have been badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Traders in the capital are said to be ’pleasantly surprised’ by the number of customers they’ve had through the doors in the build-up to Christmas.

Mr Christian said: ’I’d like to thank everybody who’s decided to shop local this year. We were putting out a message, we weren’t trying to dictate to people, we were literally saying to people "Think before you go on your keyboards and order from Amazon, or wherever".

’We’ve got some fantastic traders in our town and I think they’re putting on a good show, so I thank everybody who has shopped in Douglas.

’It’s been a very strange year for us all, but certainly going forward there’s only one way and that’s up and I think together, we can achieve a lot in 2021.’

When asked if he thinks people have responded to the ’shop local’ message, Mr Christian said: ’I think they certainly have.

’I’ve been down in the town talking to traders and there may be some who think that they could do better - and I’m sure they could - but a lot have turned around saying that they have been pleasantly surprised.

’Certainly the last couple of Saturdays that I’ve been down, they’re not just down for the coffee shops, they’re there with their shopping bags full of goods.

’That’s good to see.’