A hardware shop in Greater Manchester has new owners as of this month following the retirement of the couple who ran it previously.
Bill and Pam Astle ran Homewares, in Urmston, for 30 years, but now they have handed the business over to their friends Sarah and David Gregson.

Neither of the Gregsons has previous experience in retail, David having been a maintenance manager in a hotel while Sarah had worked in the law. But Mr Gregson told DIY Week that when Mr and Mrs Astle announced that they were going to retire he was afraid of what that might mean for his much-loved local hardware store.

"I just didn't want it to change," he said. "This place has been here for 30 years and I've lived around here for 25 years, and I and all my friends have always come here.

"There's nothing like this, it's an Aladdin's Cave for everything, and it's not going to change. It'll be exactly the same as when Bill and Pam had it.

"We stock everything from dog food to poo bags to screwdrivers and electricals, to paints, mops, buckets, compost and garden canes. And if we haven't got it we'll find it."

Mr and Mrs Gregson took over the shop on June 9, and meanwhile the Astles plan to spend more time on their narrow boat and with their grandchild. They said they had been "overwhelmed" by the number of customers who had wished them well for their retirement.