A family-run business in East Molesey is closing up shop after 18 years of trading in Walton Road this Saturday (October 13).

Mr Gant, 60, and his wife Claire, 60, from Newham, are both stepping away from The Discount Shop, which they have been running together for 18 years.

Speaking to the Surrey Comet, Mr Gant said he and his wife were leaving their duties at The Discount Shop to “get proper jobs.”

The father of two said: “We are walking away from it. The high streets everywhere are going down. We are not doing nearly as well as we were doing three years ago.

“Three years ago, we were serving 150 customers a day. Now, often, we serve 100 customers a day.”

Mr Gant added: “It’s since the banks went. People do not bother coming up to the high street in Molesey any more since the banks went.

“We have had roadworks for over a year. The post office was closed for nearly a year.”

Since it announced its closure, the Walton Road business has found support and well wishers from the local community.

The head of a local school came in to deliver a bottle of whisky, and residents have come in to hand in cards and flowers.

“I am standing in the back of the shop talking to you. Every single person who’s come in has said hello to me”, Mr Gant said over the phone.

The Discount Shop will be marking its last day in business on Saturday with canapés and “something fizzy”, to give a chance to residents to say their goodbyes.