A £2 MILLION fund to improve three shopping areas in Worcestershire has been unveiled - with Worcester's Shambles getting a facelift.

Worcestershire County Council wants to launch a new kitty to upgrade the appearance of Worcester, Great Malvern and Tenbury in a boost to retailers.

Under the move the three investments will go into resurfacing, new street lighting, street furniture like benches and other cosmetic improvements.

Worcester's spending will focus on The Shambles following concern that it has fallen behind other parts of the city.

In recent years the High Street, Broad Street and the Cornmarket have all benefitted from upgrades in the city, leaving The Shambles trailing.

Elsewhere, Teme Street in Tenbury and Great Malvern town centre will also get shares of the money.

The spending is part of County Hall's 2017/18 budget plans, and will be made available in April subject to a vote at the full council in February.

Some shoppers and retailers in Worcester have welcomed the investment, saying The Shambles is looking "tired".

Keith Coxall, 51, who regularly visits the shops along the route, said: "The rest of the city centre looks great and then you come down there and you think 'what a shame'.

"It needs to be much better, so it's not before time - the whole area will look great."

Phil Watson, who runs Syd Smith & Sons in The Shambles, a family butchers, said: "It's looking more than tired, so it'll be good if they spend some money on it.

"Business isn't really that sharp at the moment, Christmas will be very good but then we've got January and February, so this is welcome."

The hope is that the spending on each site will be beefed-up by further contributions by the district councils.

Cllr Simon Geraghty, the county council's leader, said: "This further investment in a number of town centres is designed to ensure they remain vibrant retail and social spaces where people want to visit and spend time."

He added: "This is all about creating place people want to be, we want people to enjoy coming in, spending time in these locations and spending money.

"They are our 'shop window' to the economy."