Photographer Bob Aylott captures life in Fareham during lockdown

Bob Aylott, 71, who previously worked as a photographer for the Daily Mail and Daily Star, spent 35 days taking more than 10,000 photographs of the town between March 24 and April 27, using his cockapoo dog, Flossie, as a decoy to ensure he could gain access to all parts of the town despite lockdown restrictions.

Bob said: ‘I would walk Flossie four times a day and we’d cover six miles. No-one took any notice of an old man with a camera being dragged through town by a dog. During early morning walks, Flossie warned me of anyone approaching even before I’d seen them.

‘In the end she knew when I wanted to take pictures. She’d lie down and pretend to be tired. I couldn’t have done it without her.’

A resident of the town, Bob said the capturing the early days of lockdown was an ‘eerie experience’.

‘That first day of lockdown was just really spooky – the normally busy streets were deserted,’ said Bob.

‘There’s one picture of a lady wheeling a trolley down West Street and it just looks as if she’s the last person left in town. Capturing the mood in those first couple of weeks was difficult – everything was just so sombre and quiet.’

Described by Bob as a ‘visual chronicle of lockdown’, he highlighted one picture which summed up the isolation.

‘I went to Fareham train station – which is normally very busy – and there was just one person stood on the platform,’ he said.

As the initial shock of lockdown began to subside and people began to adapt to a ‘new normal’, the book also captures some of the lighter moments of life as residents looked to remain positive in the face of adversity.

‘One neighbourhood decided to have a socially distanced street party and all the women got dressed up and people enjoyed a few drinks while chatting over their garden fences. There’s even a photograph of a couple in Trinity Street who were in the garden playing darts, dressed as squirrels,’ said Bob.

The photographs could have been the last to be captured by Bob as towards the end of April he began to feel unwell.

‘Both myself and my partner started to feel a bit rough and we got tested and diagnosed with Covid. However as she began to get better I started to feel worse,’ he said. ‘My leg started to swell and after a video consultation with my doctor I was sent to Queen Alexandra Hospital.’

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After being admitted, he spent the next three weeks battling for his life.

‘It was pretty horrific – I was so weak. I couldn’t even pick up my iPhone.’

Although still not back to full health, Bob’s condition improved and he was discharged.

‘It could have been my last assignment. But I’d survived the virus and shot all the pictures and needed to tell the story.’

Entitled Lockdown Town Bob’s book can be purchased from the online retailer blurb.

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