A newsagents in Kennington which has served the village for more than 40 years shuts its doors for good at the end of the month.

Jim "Jimbob" Hardiman, 58, and his wife Lynda, 59, have run J&L Hardimans, in Meadow Road, since September 1983, but have reluctantly decided to shut up shop on April 28.

The shop became popular with children who gave Mr Hardiman his nickname of Jimbob and re-named the shop "Jimbob's Shop".

Mr Hardiman, who was a bus driver instructor in Witney, took on the shop - which had opened in 1963 - after being made redundant.

The couple welcomed their first customers through the doors on September 8, 1983, an occasion for which Mr Hardiman remembered wearing a white collar and tie "for the first and last time".

They soon expanded the newsagents to include groceries, an off-licence and some hardwares.

Mr Hardiman said: "If anybody wanted anything, we'd get it for them. I will miss seeing the kids growing up and then coming in with their kids.

"One of my first paperboys is married and has a grandchild - that's when you realise how long you've been doing something."

Supermarkets and internet shopping had affected trade in the village and Mr Hardiman said at least seven businesses had disappeared over the last 20 years, but he said the shop was still doing a roaring trade.

"It used to take four of us to run the place and now it's just me and my wife - but it's still very busy and we've always managed to make a living out of it."

He said they would both be sorry to say goodbye to customers, but had decided to shut because of his wife's poor health.

The couple will stay in their flat above the premises and plan to convert the shop - which they had tried to sell as a going concern - into a flat for a family member.

Mr Hardiman added: "All in all, it's been very enjoyable and we've made a lot of friends. It's the end of an era."