'It was a day out when you went to Dickens'

SITE THAT USED TO BE A POPULAR HOME IMPROVEMENT STORE CELEBRATES 20 YEARS AS SELF-STORAGE FACILITY

- By DAVE ROBSON

IT was the "home improvement hypermarket" known by generations of Teessiders - and now a selfstorage facility that bears its name is celebrating its 20th birthday.

For decades, a trip to the sprawling Dickens DIY store on Portrack Lane, Stockton, was almost a rite of passage for many until the business was sold to B&Q in 1999.

Opened in the late 1960s by brothers Albert, Robert and Terrence Dicken, it was the first DIY hypermarket in Britain, quickly gaining popularity with customers in the early 1970s and spawning four other shops.

Albert's son Jonathan joined the business in 1988 and around the same time, the company acquired a five-acre site on Portrack Lane as a base for its computer-controlled, central distribution warehouse.

And today, that site is home to Dickens Self Storage - opened in 2005 by Jonathan as testament to the family's enduring legacy in the business community of Stockton.