Man's return to shop saves it from closure 50 years on
A retired engineer has saved a shop from closure by returning to the greengrocers he worked as a child.
Alan Sheppard worked in Somerset's South Petherton store, owned by his uncle, in the late 1960s, and after a career in engineering, he has decided to continue his family's legacy.
Residents feared the shop would have to close when Mr Sheppard's former colleague, Merv, decided to call it a day. Mr Sheppard had recently finished working at Branston potatoes, and felt inspired to give his former role another try.
He said: "What makes this job good is the customers. They come in here and they're all happy that we carried on, because they thought when Merv retired, it might close."
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He added: "Back in the late 1960s, I worked for my uncle's business... we used to go off delivering during the mornings, and then in the afternoons we'd have to get potatoes from the farms, or go out and cut cauliflowers in the field.
"I've gone full circle."
Mr Sheppard said working in the shop as the manager is "not as stressful" as being an engineer, adding he can "chill out" as he heads towards retirement.
The greengrocer also said footfall was increasing, noticing younger people are now using the shop to buy fruit and veg instead of visiting supermarkets.
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