A busy alleyway in Ashford town centre has reopened.

Council officials closed Taylors Passage linking the High Street to the taxi rank outside Wilko last month.

Contractors working on the former Burton store next to WHSmith erected scaffolding in the cut-through, forcing Kent County Council to shut the route.

But the alleyway has now reopened, allowing shoppers to take the shortcut to the High Street again.

Last month, Iceland bosses were forced to permanently close a door at the back of their store following “hundreds” of shoplifting incidents.

Speculation on social media suggested bosses had shut the entrance following the temporary closure of Taylors Passage, but a store a spokesman said it had nothing to do with the alleyway.