RESIDENTS of a once-thriving village say it has become a ghost town due to one simple reason.

Locals of Goldthorpe, Yorkshire, told how previously packed pubs are now empty with shops being forced to close as trade dries up.

The formerly vibrant high street has become a string of empty units masked by metal shutters.

The 7,000 people who live there are in no doubt about where the issue lies.

Peter Oughton, 54, who has lived in Goldthorpe all his life, told Yorkshire Live: "I remember when the shops were full here. They had to stay open past five; they had late openings on a weekend.

"The market was packed, the pubs and the bars were heaving, so many of them have gone now.

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"I think a lot changed when they put the bypass in. There is so much passing traffic that just doesn't come through anymore. All those people that just used to stop off for some bits don't even come near Goldthorpe now."

He continued: "That and the pit closing has changed the place completely. People that used to work down the pit, they all have to go for miles to get work now.

"Nobody is staying here for work, the ones that want to work travel."

Goldthorpe's coal pit was opened all the way back in 1909 but closed in October 1994.

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Peter added: "To be honest, I don't think there is a lot you can do short term that will change things.

"When the jobs come back to the area, that is when the shops will get better. If people haven't got money to spend or aren't in the area you can't expect things to go well.

"As it is, there's nothing for young people to do around here, nothing to look forward to. You hear about some big companies coming in and hopefully they will, a big warehouse and jobs there is what we need. That is what will make it."

Fellow resident and village newsagent Joy saw similar problems.

She said: "There are a lot of businesses coming in, but they open and close so quickly at the moment.

"You see people put up all new signs and everything and then they don't last two minutes so it all seems like a waste. The thing we have here is that a lot of people go to town to do the sort of shopping that they might have done locally before.

"It feels like it needs a bit of variety, there are a lot of kebab and pizza places and a lot of beauty places.

"Depending on what time you come down it can feel a bit abandoned when the shutters are down on one of those lot and then it swaps and the others close for the evening."

Local shopkeeper Annette, 68, is one of the remaining business owners on the high street.

She has run her florist there for 30 years and said that she has been having trouble with break-ins amid the stagnating village economy.

Annette explained: "I've been broken into three times now, the last time they got in they took some coffee that I'd left and a few packets of soup. They never bother to try and take the flowers.

"When they broke in last time I was going to pack it all in and retire but I've decided to stick it out and do another year before I put my feet up. Some have lost a lot more when they get in, a lot of them have been coming in through the roofs.

"I don't leave anything in the shop overnight really but one across the road had it's till nicked, there was £140 in it or thereabouts. They just took the whole till with them when they broke in."

However, she did add that she felt that Goldthopre was no worse than other villages in the same area, saying: "We've all got the same problems."

There are reasons for hope, though, according to Anette.

She explained: "The thing is we've been busy all morning, the cafe next door is packed out most days and you see all the hairdressers and beauticians full and opening more places. They talk about people having no money but they still do come for certain things.

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"The butchers has been going for years and people travel in for the pies, the business that last and stick around are the good ones.

"We’re still here, we’re still busy and that hasn’t changed."

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