The lone shopkeeper of brook street still defiant.

(From Leicester Mercury)

At the time, it was scheduled for demolition in the first phase of the new St Matthew's development.

The shopkeeper posing in the picture is Mr Bill White, who became known as the "lone shopkeeper of Brook Street".

His premises were surrounded by dereliction as more and more people were leaving the area.

Trade must have been almost non-existent. He had owned his little general store for about 30 years. By the time of this picture, his sales had dropped by GBP30 a week, which in those days was quite a considerable sum. For many years, Bill and his wife had been Leicester's Pearly King and Queen.

During that …