A FORMER manager of a shopping centre which was redeveloped into CrownGate has shared his memories of the old precinct.

Richard Ayers had three jobs in Blackfriars Market and Shopping Centre, which has now been replaced by CrownGate, in Friary Walk, Worcester.

He worked in a butchers and the Horseshoe Bar in Blackfriars, before following in his father's footsteps and managing the complex.

Mr Ayers, manager from 1971 to 1976, said: "In 1969 Blackfriars opened. It was one of the first places in the country to have a travelator like at the airport.

"It was a novelty. My dad was the original manager, he opened it. I was 15 or 16 when it opened.

"It was a big part of my life. My wife worked there part-time. Several of her cousins did too.

"I took over the market when I was 19. Dad moved to a bigger market in Smethwick.

"Someone else took over and it didn't work out so they asked me if I would takeover."

Mr Ayers said he was not daunted by the task as he had seen how his father did the job.

He said: "You had people from Stourbridge that had stalls there, people from Birmingham and Gloucester. There were 100 stalls.

"There were quite a few people selling men's clothing. One guy took a stall and was selling shirts for quite cheap.

"Some of the other stall owners started playing and they had a price war. He had them down to 25p a shirt.

"Then a couple of days after I had people knocking on the manager's door who said 'look at this shirt, it shrunk in the wash, it wouldn't fit a baby doll'."

Mr Ayers, aged 65, remembers the era as a more innocent time and said there was banter between the stall owners.

He added that with the rise of out-of-town shopping parks it made sense for CrownGate to redevelop the site.