Shoppers show support for rainbow buddy benches

"They brighten the place up but there's always going to be negative people having a moan," one shopper said.

Shoppers have shown support for rainbow-painted public benches that were intended to help combat loneliness.

Longton Exchange Shopping Centre's "buddy benches" were designed to encourage strangers to talk to one another.

A national newspaper article this week reported that some people had criticised the benches on social media and one had threatened to paint them black.

But several shoppers in Longton, speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, supported the initiative.

"They brighten the place up but there's always going to be negative people having a moan," one shopper said.

"Locals largely embrace the benches. The negative comments are people's own beliefs. A large proportion aren't from the area and have their own motives," said Chris Ward, the centre's manager.

The colourful benches were designed to encourage strangers to talk to one another

Longton Exchange Shopping Centre organised for the buddy benches to be painted in May 2023.

A Facebook post by the centre about the benches last week gained more than 1,200 comments, some of which were negative.

The reactions to the social media post were covered by the Daily Mail on Monday.

Some shoppers told BBC Radio Stoke on Tuesday that the painted benches added a necessary splash of colour to the town.

"Everything should be that colour. I mean, some of the shops look a bit dreary. Bring Longton up to what it used to be," one shopper said.

"There's nothing much around here, so I like that they've put something new in. I've seen quite a few people using them," someone who works in the town centre said.

However some people said the message of the benches could be confusing.

"It reminds you of gay pride, doesn't it? I don't think people realised what they are for," a town centre regular said.