Villagers in Great Bedwyn are waiting to hear the fate of their village’s only provisions shop after its owners Roger and Denise Grant found themselves in financial difficulties and said the shop would be closing.

Mr and Mrs Grant, 65 and 63, took over The Stores in High Street seven years ago to live a dream after discovering Great Bedwyn during a narrow boat holiday along the Kennet and Avon Canal.

The pair lived in Kent but fell in love with Great Bedwyn and, said Mrs Grant, jumped at the chance of taking over the village stores.

Unless a rescue bid launched today is successful the shop will be forced to close its doors for good, leaving just the village bakery and Post Office and two pubs.

Mr and Mrs Grant’s dream, she said, had become a nightmare thanks to falling trade in the once-popular shop.

Mrs Grant said trade had been hit first by the recession and then more recently by the opening of a new Tesco store in Hungerford where many Bedwyn people have traditionally shopped.

“After Tesco opened in Hungerford we were nearly forced to close and we did not have to buy any stock for two weeks,” said Mrs Grant.

Yesterday customers going to the stores were told it was its last day of opening and they were surprised to see it open again this morning.

Mrs Grant said they were keeping it open primarily to serve newspapers and intended to keep it open daily until about 11am for the time being.

She confirmed that she and her husband had filed for bankruptcy but said they were hoping they could strike a deal with a private financier, possibly a local benefactor, to come up with cash to prop up the business.

She said: “Even if we are forced to close it I don’t think it will stay closed for long once the official receiver steps in.

“There is a viable business here and we have battled and battled to keep it going.

“We have struggled for the last nine months to keep it going but we have had our mortgages called in,” Mrs Grant said.

She said they were so short of cash that it looked as if her horse Gigolo would have to be put down because he was no longer able to be ridden because of an arthritic knee and it was unlikely anyone would buy him.