Tucked away in Carlisle’s Denton Holme neighbourhood is what can best be described as a time machine.

Stepping into Ye Olde Sweet Shoppe on Denton Street means stepping into the 1950s. With its dark wood shelves filled floor to ceiling with brightly coloured jars of sweets, the shop conjures an atmosphere that owner Carl Gent describes as “almost like it has a rapport with you - like it speaks to you.”

Earlier this month, Carl, 56 celebrated Ye Olde Sweet Shoppe’s nine years on the Denton Holme high street, and said he looks forward to many more years to come.

“Originally, the shop was set up by me and a friend of mine, Steve Copping,” he said.

“We both used to go to Whitby twice a year. It’s such a quaint town, with so much heritage.

“We didn’t feel there was much competition Carlisle could put up to Whitby, apart from the museum and the castle.”

That sense of heritage they brought with their new shop was an instant hit, Carl said, and has stayed popular ever since.

“The adults who visit can relate to their childhood and the children can relate to how things used to be,” he said.

While the shop is popular in Carlisle itself, Carl said it attracts visitors from much further afield.

“People don’t just come from across the city, they come from afar as Haltwhistle and Whitehaven, down to Ulverston and up to Castle Douglas in south west Scotland,” Carl said.

He added that the sweets are only part of the attraction for many visitors - a sweet shop is the perfect place to visit if you’re having a bad day.

“They can be having a rotten day, come and step back into their childhood without spending a penny, and leave feeling a lot warmer,” Carl said.

“It’s great to see grown adults behaving like children, getting so excited at the sight of all the different sweets.”

He added there was a human touch to a small, friendly, independent business such as his that is extremely valuable to a lot of people.

“With some of the older generation, they might come partly because they’re having a miserable day. Perhaps there’s no one around, no one to talk to.

“They’ll come and have a friendly chat with a real person - not an automated checkout.

“I’m so proud of this business. It feels like an exciting place to be.”

Steve stepped back from the business a year and a half ago. The “ideas” man, it was him who had the original idea for the shop.

“Without his input it wouldn’t be what it is today,” Carl said.