A MYSTERY visitor has given the thumbs-up to a North Yorkshire market town.

Town centre bosses in Richmond called in a company specialising in mystery shoppers to find out what an unbiased outsider thought of the town's facilities.

After the inspection in June, the visitor reported back, saying: "A most enjoyable visit which has made a lasting and favourable impression. The essentials are all in place.

"Above all, everyone who helped and served me was polite and friendly and that goes a long way to make any visit an enjoyable experience."

The visitor commented on the friendly and helpful staff in many of the shops, as well as the overall cleanliness of the town.

Special mention was given to the Green Howards Museum and the Richmondshire Museum, for the in-depth knowledge of their staff.

Several improvements were suggested, including the need for a bus shelter, better pedestrian access to the buses and a review of maintenance in Castle Walk.

However, town manager Colin Grant said many of the recommendations were already being addressed.

He said: "The people who live in Richmond know how lucky they are to have such a great place to call home, but it's encouraging to hear it from someone who looks at the place with an unbiased view.

"We have a good mix of retailers in the town now and have a great platform from which to develop further."

As part of the same project, Retail Rapport sent mystery shoppers into 20 shops and cafs in the town, producing individual reports on each.

The reports have now been passed to each shop to see how improvements can be made.

The mystery shoppers will return to the same shops later in the summer to see how they have progressed.