Bowes Hardware & Gardening, which is the oldest shop on Cockfosters Road in North London, is to close its doors after 80 years.
David and Barbara Newport have been running Bowes for 33 years, but according to local press, the store has sold DIY and gardening goods since 1936. The couple have now made the decision to retire, and will shut up shop on October 15.

Mr Newport reportedly said that the store had a number of interested bidders, adding that he hoped it would continue to sell hardware and gardening goods. Speaking to the Barnet Times, he said: "We are still trying to sell [the shop] as an ongoing concern and have people interested.

There are people who want to turn it into lots of different things, one person has suggested a doctor's surgery, but a hardware store is what it has always been.

"I am sad. I have been here 33 years and doing this job 52 years. I would prefer it if the store could carry on with someone, but if it doesn't then that's the way it is.

"We have a really good relationship with all our customers, they keep on coming in saying 'we're going to miss you', and that upsets me as well."

Mr and Mrs Newport previously owned a hardware store on Bowes Road in Arnos Grove before taking on the Cockfosters store and keeping their original business' name. The Cockfosters Rd store has a poignant resonance for Mr Newport in particular, who knew the previous owners very well.