VILLAGERS at Urchfont, near Devizes, have succeeded in turning the tide of village shop closures by opening a community shop and post office.

Hundreds of local residents crammed into the car park outside the Lamb Inn on Saturday to see the official opening of the shop in the converted outbuilding of the pub.

Devizes-based brewer Wadworth has signed a lease with the organisers of the community shop and helped in many other ways, including supplying the shop sign in their sign-painting department.

But it has been a community effort to open the first general store in the village since Vera and Dave Nelson had to shut up shop 16 years ago.

And one of the first people behind the counter on Saturday was Mrs Nelson, who is one of a band of 50 volunteers who will be serving the customers.

Shop manager Sandra Mistlin served the first official customers, local children Evie Stephens, 11, and Matthew Lee, eight, who spent their pocket money on sweets.

Before that, however, the shop, employees and customers were blessed by the Rector of the Redhorn Team Ministry, the Rev Michael Cole.

Jon Masterson, chairman of the Urchfont Community Shop Association, which had to raise £100,000 in grants and donations to finance the conversion and stocking of the building, thanked the many people involved in the project.

Jane Turnbull, another member of the management committee, reminded the gathering that the shop was the brainchild of Ted Collins, former landlord of the Nags Head, the other pub in the village, who died just over a year ago and was unable to see his vision realised. There is a plaque in his memory on the wall of the shop.

Mr Collins' widow, Audrey, cut a ribbon to formally open the shop, giving the villagers their first opportunity to buy groceries in Urchfont since Bill Ford closed his butcher's shop in 1999.

The post office will be run by Christine Dolan, who is also the Urchfont parish clerk, and she was being given her final instructions by a Post Office official before it, too, opened to the public on Monday.

The shop stocks locally produced meat and cheese.