Shoppers in a town where almost two-thirds of those who voted in the EU Referendum opted for Brexit say they are glad a deal has been forged and the UK’s exit is sealed.

In Middlesbrough, almost twice as many people voted Leave in 2016 rather than remain, with 65.5 per cent saying they wanted to get out of the EU.

On Thursday, as the area entered Tier 4 of coronavirus restrictions, people out in the town centre said the end of the transition period was “alright by me”, although many said only “time will tell” what the future will hold.

Catherine Archer, 56, from Ingleby Barwick, said: “It’s absolutely fine. I wanted it. We needed to sort ourselves out and govern ourselves – make sure that everything we want to do, we don’t have to go to Europe to get ‘yes’ or ‘no’ ‘for it.”

Mrs Archer said: “I don’t really know much about what we’re getting out of it. I understand it’s all to do with fishing and things like that.

“As long as we can start having our own say on what we’re doing, it’s alright by me.”

Maureen Williams, 68, from Middlesbrough, said: “Why should the French come fishing in our waters and then sell it back to us?

“So, I’m for everything he (Prime Minister Boris Johnson) is doing.”

Mrs Williams said: “But he did it and we’ve got it and why should we let other countries dictate to us?

“We’re England. We’re British. We have to fight. People come to us for a better life and we don’t want to go down, we want to come up. Fly the flag.”

Matthew Plumpton, 29, from Middlesbrough, said: “I’m happy we’ve got a deal first and foremost.

“It’s been a long road, really.

“I’m just happy something’s come into play so we’re not going to be left with nothing.

“If I was home, I would have voted for it.

“So I’m happy with it but who can tell really?

“We can all moan about it but we all don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.

“It could be bad for us, it could be good for them. We just have to wait and see.”

But David Wade, 53, from Marske-by-the-Sea, said: The deal is a bit thin but, there again, it was voted for. Time will tell, basically.

“Personally, I didn’t vote for it but it’s been done, it’s democracy.

“We’ll see over the months and years.

“With Covid, I think that will make a bigger difference to the economy than Brexit anyway.”

Hamauda Barbame, from Middlesbrough, said: “If all the immigrant people go, this country is going to be kaput.”