SHOPPERS in Ipswich certainly haven't been following the example of footballers' wives and shopping till they dropped!As the temperatures soared this week, they have been shunning the town centre - not even lured in by the attractions of air-conditioned stores.

SHOPPERS in Ipswich certainly haven't been following the example of footballers' wives and shopping till they dropped!

As the temperatures soared this week, they have been shunning the town centre - not even lured in by the attractions of air-conditioned stores.

Tower Ramparts centre manager Mike Sorhaindo had noticed the reduction in customers.

He said: “It does seem that people just don't want to come into the town centre unless they have to in this weather.

“It is just one of those things - ironically it is much more comfortable in shopping centres and shops than it is outside at the moment but people just don't feel like making the effort of coming in.”

At the Co-op, managers of neighbourhood stores had noticed more people calling in for small items like cooked meat, salads and ice cream.

But the Carr Street department store had seen a slight fall-off in the number of customers.

Miriam Harrup from the East of England Co-op said: “It's been a case of swings and roundabouts so far as we are concerned - the neighbourhood stores are very popular but in the town centre the story is rather different.”

And at the Buttermarket shopping centre, manager Colin Roberts said stores had noticed a distinct drop in the number of shoppers, especially during the afternoons.

He said: “This is something we are used to. You always find there is a drop off at the start of a heatwave as people want to do other things in the sunshine.

“However as the heat carries on people start to drift back as they have to buy things - so it is only ever a short-term blip.”