HIGH rents, business rates and falling custom because of parking charges have been blamed for the closure of the Baker's Dozen caf in Maryport Street, Devizes, which shut up shop at the end of last week.

Rowde baker Tony House said: "It just wasn't worth it anymore. We were paying out so much in rent and rates. People aren't coming to the town in the same numbers. It costs so much to park here and if you go to Trowbridge it is free."

Mr House has now returned to baking bread for retail outlets and doing a door-to-door round.

He said: "This is how my father Norman, now 91, started off in 1933. We would produce 5,000 loaves a week as well as rolls, buns and cakes. It's different now because we can't compete with supermarket prices."

But there is still a market for bread baked in the traditional way and Mr House has just launched a sideline called A Slice of Country Life in which he demonstrates how to bake bread. Visitors are shown the workings of a traditional bake house and experience the mixing, kneading, moulding, proving and finishing methods of craft baking.

People can try their hand at cutting lumps of dough and shoving them into bread tins, and removing the tins from the oven with a six-foot paddle.

Anyone wanting to sign up for the course, or get locally baked bread delivered to their door, can contact the bakery on (01380) 721490.

Mr House's sons and daughters are qualified bakers, but are working for large commercial companies and do not want to run the family business