THE wonder of Wellworths is still going strong as the store welcomed the 100,000th customer to the checkout.

Claire Robertson’s high street revolution at the former Woolworths store in Dorchester has proved a runaway success since it opened in March.

Now, just three months after DJ Chris Evans opened the doors to the South Street store, mum Heather Ikin has become the 100,000th person to sign up to Claire’s bold vision.

Mrs Ikin and her three-year-old daughter Hannah popped into the store to spend some of the youngster’s pocket money on an art and crafts set and were stunned to find out they were the landmark customers.

Miss Robertson presented mother and daughter with two large bags of Wellworths goodies as well as a £30 voucher and a bunch of flowers.

Mrs Ikin, 38, from Weymouth, said she was impressed by what Miss Robertson had done with the shop.

She said: “We used to come in here when it was Woolworths. It’s such a lovely store, it’s really nice and spacious.

“We were going up to Dorset County Hospital and we came up early specifically to come in here. Hannah wanted to spend some of her pocket money.”

Miss Robertson said the store’s success had exceeded all expectations and she was thrilled to reach the landmark figure of 100,000 customers so quickly.

She said: “We never knew how quickly we would get through 100,000 customers and we realised at three months that we were close.

“We were really pleased to get there this quickly.

“We have had a lot of publicity but it’s hard in this economic climate to make sure everything clicks.

“It’s been hard work and there have been a few sleepless nights but I’m really enjoying it.”

Miss Robertson said she had been tracking the figures on a computer that logs all transactions at the store and was keen to give the lucky 100,000th customer something to celebrate.

She said: “It’s nice to celebrate it and give something back to the customers bec-ause that’s what we’re about.”

Miss Robertson said Wellworths was now becoming a tourist destination for holidaymakers heading down to Dorset during the summer.

She said the store had now brought out its own range of mugs and magnets to offer the Wellworths tourists a souvenir to remember their visit.

Miss Robertson added that she was delighted to see that the whole of Dorchester was benefiting from Wellworths’ success.