Simply the best? Many of you thought this Hartlepool sweet shop was

We’re talking about Brett’s, which pulled in customers when it was in both Lynn Street and then the Middleton Grange shopping centre indoor market in Hartlepool.

Steven Ross summed it up when he said: “That was where dreams came to life!!”

The mouth-watering memories came flooding back for thousands of you when we shared a photograph of Brett’s on social media.

At the last count, it had reached more than 61,000 people and over 4,000 of you either passed comment on it or shared it with your friends.

But what did you like about it?

Aniseed rocks, chocolate chewing nuts, lemon and limes, toffee Brazils, brittle toffee and cough drops, which had an aroma which filled the shopping centre.

And that’s just the start! Many of you said it was the best sweet shop which ever existed.

It sold treacle toffees, cough candy twists, cherry lips, marzipan teacakes ... in fact, the list seemed endless.

But who can tell us more about ‘chock lick’. Lots of you referred to it but can anyone explain more?

Judging from your comments, Brett’s must have been packed every Saturday morning because that’s when most of you seemed to go – some armed with pocket money and others with mums or nanas in tow.

Sue Gordon said: “I used to go with my mam and get 2oz of sugar fishes every Saturday and toffee apples.”

Lesley Gray commented: “It was a lovely sweet shop. My mam took us there every Saturday for sweets, coconut mushrooms, boiled sweets in the shape of fish with sugar on. And you could get a bag of broken bits which had bits of different sweets.”

Julie Swinburne said: “I loved the cough candy which could be smelt all through the market hall.”

Thanks also to Bet Burey who said: “You could watch through windows at the toffee getting made. My friend Linda and me used to go down Lynn Street for 2oz of sweets or a toffee apple if we had enough money on us.”

Linda Snowdon was another with that memory and said: “Used to love to watch them make cough candy sweets in the old market in Lynn Street. The lovely smells and watching them throw the hot toffee on the steel table.”

Delilah Ord said: “You could smell it half way down the ramp.”

For some of you, there seemed to be a routine of calling into Alvin’s first for gravy and chips, before buying your sweets at Brett’s.

Then there were those of you who worked there and they included Emma Buck-Barrett, who said: “Best first job ever! Having access to the stock room was like a key to neverland.”

Thanks to everyone who commented, and we would love to hear from more of you. Email chris.cordner@jpress.co.uk