EMPTY shops are on the rise in Llanelli — with the town having the fourth highest vacancy rate in the country.

The data released by retail consultants the Local Data Company recently put Llanelli's vacancy rate — the number of empty shops — at 20 per cent.

And the rate has risen 3.3 per cent in the past six months — the second fastest increase in Wales except for Swansea, which has a rate of 23.6 per cent.

Llanelli has 3.6 per cent more empty shops than in July.

Wales's overall vacancy rate is around 18 per cent, compared with 15 per cent in Scotland and 14 per cent in England.

Now Carmarthenshire Council leader Meryl Gravell has renewed her pledge of boosting Llanelli town centre.

She said: "Just look around Llanelli town centre now and see for yourself the amazing transformation taking place.

"All the pieces of the jigsaw are coming together, forming a £60 million investment which is predicted to bring hundreds of thousands more visitors every year.

"I appreciate times are still hard for town centre traders, it is a national trend unfortunately.

"I would urge people to play their part and use the town centre, take a trip to the market.

"Fortunes are not going to change overnight and much depends on the national financial situation, but I still remain confident that the future for Llanelli will be flourishing, bright and prosperous."