YESTERDAY wasn’t a great day for the British economy.

It slammed into reverse at the end of last year, contracting by a worse than expected 0.3 per cent.

The unions launched a fresh attack on the government’s economic policy, branding it 'a complete disaster'.

The recent spate of high profile closures are testament to how tough things are out there at the moment, with the likes of HMV, Jessops and Blockbuster calling in administrators.

These are all national chains with a strong local presence.

Yesterday wasn’t brilliant either, if you were a trader in Bournemouth town centre. A major power cut sparked by contractor damage to a cable wiped out trading for a large number of outlets on what is traditionally one of the busiest days of the week on the high street. The local business community is entitled to feel angry at the cock up. They needed it like a hole in the head.