DOMINIC Cummings said he wishes he had never heard of Barnard Castle - but businesses the town are they glad he made his infamous trip for eye test, as it has boosted the fortunes of the town.

When the former advisor to Boris Johnson admitted last May he had driven 30 miles to Barnard Castle during lockdown, resident were angry, but now appreciate that he unwittingly put the historic market town “on the map” – and turned its branch of Specsavers into a star attraction.

Mr Cumming remarked, "I wish I'd never heard of Barnard Castle", during a marathon session of evidence to MPs on Wednesday

Rima Chatterjee, who runs the Old Well Inn with her husband, said: “There is no such thing as bad publicity. He has brought in tremendous amount of traffic into the town.

“And although he is saying he should have never come to Barnard Castle, we are grateful that he did.

“Not for the reason he did it, but the fact that he did come has increased footfall. People are coming here out of interest.

“If nothing else they they know about Barnard Castle now which a lot of people - even in England - didn’t.

“We were so much in the news at the time that I had people getting in touch from all over the globe.

“We were a small hidden secret - but not any more. they discover we are a pretty market town and it’s very scenic, with beautiful walks.

“A lot of people will do the customary eye test in front of Specsavers. I am sure in the future it will continue to have its effect. So thank you Dominic Cummings.”

Kenny Walker, of Chocolate Fayre, said: “Obviously there was a lot of local anger and annoyance at the time. We can’t turn back the clock put what he did wrong right, but it certainly has had a positive effect on the town.

“The visitor numbers to Barney have gone up tremendously, so from a business perspective, it has meant that we are still here.

“A lot of high streets have been decimated through Covid, with the change in shopping habits, but the high street in Barney is still very buoyant.”

Zak Ahmed of Babuls restaurant said: “We were dumbfounded when it first happened, because we felt we had done our bit and made sacrifices. And then for someone who was advising us to stick to he rules going and breaking them himself.”

He added: “At the end of the day Barnard Castle wouldn’t have been international news if it wasn’t for Dominic Cummings.

"Although what he did was wrong Barnard Castle has benefited from it massively. We are a well known market town and are on the map.

A lot of people who have not heard of us before will definitely make a point to come here. Any extra tourism is welcome."