SHERSTON shopkeeper Roger Clements is selling up after 21 years. Mr Clements, 61, has decided to retire for health reasons.

The village shop in the High Street, which is up for sale for £375,000 as a going concern along with an adjoining cottage valued at £300,000, is a particular hub of the community.

Mrs Mary Clements said the store has increased sales every year since she and her husband bought it.

She said with new housing and school planned the shop needed some youthful vigour to continue its success.

She said: "If you told me a year ago we would be selling the shop now I wouldn't have believed you.

"It has been a difficult decision that we took over four months. It is a huge wrench for us and it will be very hard to leave."

Mrs Clements said: "We are selling the shop as a going concern. We have just arranged a ten-year lease with the post office. We have control of who we sell it to and it will continue to be a thriving business.''

Owner of the post office Howard Greenman said: "It is very much the hub of the community. We are one of the few rural post offices that sell car tax and the shop is a thriving business. It is all interconnected."

Mr and Mrs Clements will be staying in the village after their retirement.

They have a bought a plot of land on the High Street not far from the shop, where they plan to build a house.