THE owner of a family-run jewellers believes St Andrew's Court has become an afterthought in recent years.

Kevin Adshead, of Westhoughton, owns The Courtyard Jewellers with his mum Anne Doyle.

Between them they have more than 35 years experience in the industry and seven years ago, they decided to open their own store in their home town.

Mr Adshead said: "Me and my mum both came from jewellery backgrounds - I was dealing in watches and she managed Ernest Jones, Fraser Hart and a little independent in Bury.

There looked to be a gap in the market for a good, family-run, independent jewellers in Bolton, so that's what we did.

"People come up here and the see some diamonds in the window and they think it's a little bit too fancy in here but it's not at all.

"We're really down to Earth and we'll work to help anybody. Any budget, you name it."

Mr Adshead also believes that St Andrew's Court doesn't get the attention it deserves and thinks the closure of HMV five years ago was another blow to the shopping precinct.

He added: "It would be an understatement to say that St Andrew's Court is an afterthought.

"HMV was one of the main draws to this area, there's still some really nice independent shops, there's a fantastic salon, cafes and little, quirky shops but when they redeveloped the Market Place, it just felt as if Bolton Council wanted to push everyone over to that side of town.

"There are massive boards in the town square with Crompton Place, Market Place, the Octagon, Debenhams but there's no St Andrew's Court."

Online shopping has long been touted as one of the main culprits for the decline of town centre shopping, but Mr Adshead is more concerned about how much of a draw free parking is in other places such as the Trafford Centre.

He said: "I'm not that concerned about online. People who want to buy a diamond, want to feel it. Anybody who wants a quality piece of jewellery needs to handle it first.

"What I am concerned about are the out of town shopping centres, with free parking because Bolton don't have that. I forgot my car park key the other day and it cost me £9 for a day's parking.

"There's just no incentive to come and shop in Bolton. It's quiet as it it and it doesn't feel as if anything is being done to drive traffic, which is a bit of a shame.

There aren't many destination shops either - Prestons of Bolton was one, Beales to an extent is, but as those shops go it becomes a little bit of a concern."

n The Courtyard Jewellers is open 9am-5pm Monday to Saturday and 11am-4pm on Sundays.