BOLTON’S shops lost tens of thousands of pounds on Saturday as the EDL and UAF both held rallies in the town.

Shops shut their doors and battened down the hatches as thousands of demonstrators descended on the town centre.

The few stores that did decide to open reported a “very slow” day, as customers stayed away.

The cost of the joint Bolton Council and police operation — and the clean-up that followed — is still being calculated.

In addition to hundreds of police officers drafted in to control the crowds, the local authority had 150 council officers, from youth workers to highways officials, involved in the clean-up after the event, with more working yesterday.

But Bolton Council’s chief executive Sean Harriss said: “The level of disruption was much less than it could have been.”

Most businesses stayed closed throughout Saturday, including W H Smith and Mothercare, while some were boarded up in case of trouble, like Thomas Cook and Subway.

Others opened briefly then closed, including Crompton Place shopping centre. Some chose to shut earlier than usual.

The Market Place was open as normal, but manager Rod Neasham said: “It was extremely quiet and I hope they are not having another one in the near future. One or two smaller stores on the periphery were not open, but all the main businesses were, although a lot decided to shut early.

“There weren’t many people around — footfall was well down on a normal Saturday.”

Some stores in Newport Street were open, but lowered their shutters as the English Defence League entered and left Victoria Square.

Ian Parsonage, manager at Jessops, said: “Business has been terrible.

People haven’t been shopping.

I’d much rather have had it on a Sunday rather than Saturday.”

Laura Shorrock, sales assistant at Card Factory, said: “It’s been our worst day ever. Business has been rubbish, with just a few regular customers coming in, but we haven’t had any trouble.”

Many people who ventured into the town centre were not spending money, but watching the demonstrations.

Sally Whittaker, from Westhoughton, said: “It’s just unbelievable.

I wasn’t going to come down, but I was curious as to who these people were and what was going to happen.”

Peter McDonald, from Little Lever, said: “I can see why they need so many police. I just hope that Bolton doesn’t suffer in the long run. It is going to put us in the news for all the wrong reasons.”

The night-time economy also suffered, with many pubs closed throughout the day and into the night.

John Jewitt, who runs the Ye Olde Man and Scythe pub in Churchgate, which remained closed on Saturday, said: “We’ve lost half a week’s trade.

Our takings were down about 50 per cent on Friday and then we were closed all day Saturday.

“But the town was absolutely dead on Saturday anyway. It wouldn’t have been worth opening.”

He added: “Because of police advice there were no taxis, which affected both nights.

“And the fact that there was inevitably going to be violence turned a lot of people off, so they didn’t come into town.”

Barracuda, in Bradshawgate, opened from noon, serving alcohol in plastic glasses, but trade still suffered.

Supervisor Victoria Mayoh said: “We had a big group of EDL supporters in, between 200 to 300, but there were no problems.

“Town was just absolutely dead on Saturday night. I’ve never seen a Saturday night like it. It affected our takings really badly.”

Cllr John Byrne, executive member for development, said: “It has been a setback and it’s a difficult time, we are coming out of a recession.

“People have thought it would be hard to shop and boycotted Bolton.

“It’s been a difficult decision for businesses whether or not to open, but it has been up to them.

“I’m confident Bolton can bounce back. Let’s put it behind us—we are open for business as usual now.”