I HAVE often attacked our reliance on technology, but this week it came to my rescue spectacularly – in an episode which highlighted why town centres could easily wither away and die.

We went into High Wycombe on Saturday to look for last-minute birthday presents for a young relative. I assumed these particular gifts, which I cannot name for fear of spoiling the surprise, would be easy to come by.

But, for various reasons, they weren’t. Basically, the shops didn’t stock them. In desperation, we rushed to the Eden Library and spent £1 on internet access so we could look at other similar shops in the local area.

The plan was to drive to say Maidenhead, Watford or Reading to pick up these presents, so we contacted several appropriate stores on my mobile phone. None had the items we wanted in stock, and we were at a complete dead end.

However, there was no such problem finding an online store which could supply the goods directly from the internet to our house.

For the sake of security, we went home and ordered the presents that afternoon from our own PC. There were postage fees of course, but I’m sure we still saved money from avoiding paying for petrol and parking at a shop in another area.

That night, I also went online and paid my car tax in full in less than ten minutes.

This saved me from my annual ordeal of queuing in High Wycombe Post Office along with my MOT and insurance documents. The last time I paid in the old-fashioned way, I brought along the wrong insurance cover note and had to leave and return another day.

I also sorted out my utility bills at the same time, updating my electricity and gas meter readings without having to hang on for ages in a call waiting system.

But the downside of all of this is there are fewer and fewer reasons to go into town centres these days. Why would anyone bother scrabbling around for parking spaces if they can do all their business on their computer?

So it’s no surprise that a recent study found 13.5 per cent of shops were empty in High Wycombe town.

Despite this, I stand by my previous statements that the Eden centre is fantastic and has invigorated the area. I well remember what a ghost-town Wycombe was on occasions before the complex was built two years ago. But it’s positively teeming with shoppers, cinema-goers and restaurant diners all weekend now.

However, unless shops can react to the internet phenomenon, there will be a steady decline over the next few years. People still want to go out and physically shop for themselves, but many won’t bother if they can find more extensive ranges on the worldwide web.

But just in case, you think I have now become a convert to new technology, I witnessed its nightmarish side on Friday when I drove back from an editors’ meeting in Cheam in Surrey with the aid of my new sat-nav device.

This wonderful gadget somehow predicts traffic jams up ahead, and it immediately informed me of problems on the M25. I’m well used to the awful gridlock near Heathrow and was pleased when the sat-nav announced it was recalculating the route.

I was, however, not prepared for the mayhem that followed as it took me on a hellish trip through towns I’d never heard of. I ended up being diverted down a narrow road and found myself trapped behind a white van man who was in a stand-off with a vehicle blocking the route. Finally, I had to reverse for what seemed like miles while he gesticulated wildly at the other car.

I reached Feltham and thought I was safe, but then muddled up a direction and ended up on the M4 going in the wrong direction from home. I had no choice but to drive to the notorious Chiswick roundabout which was predictably jammed up.

At this point, I decided to ignore the computerised voice and use my own memory and instincts. I headed for Ealing, Hangar Lane and the A40, ignoring appeals from the sat-nav at every junction to turn right.

The entire one-hour trip took me three hours and I was exhausted for the entire weekend as a result.

But at least I didn’t have to go out and shop, because I could stay at home and do it all on the internet.