Shop owner leaves his mark

12:05pm Thursday 21st August 2008

A BISHOP Auckland businessman opted for a quick change when he wanted to leave his mark on a new paving scheme.

Shop owner Anthony Toward turned his favourite trousers into a fashion time capsule, now hidden under stone slabs in Fore Bondgate.

Mr Toward, who owns the Chic-argo boutique, stripped out of his strides when manageress Andrea Dargue came up with the idea.

Wear Valley District Council is currently updating the street, where it hopes relaying the roads and pavements will attract pavement cafes and new shops.

Mr Toward said: "The new paving is so important to the street and I wanted to be part of it.

"We were worried that there would be disruption when the work was going on but it has been really good for business.

"People have come to see what was happening and they say they didn't know there was so much here.

"Instead of complaining about the noise from the work, I thought I would inject a bit of humour and give people something to smile about."