Hardware store makes heartwarming Christmas advert that rivals John Lewis for just £100

A small hardware shop in mid Wales is rivalling John Lewis with its very own Christmas advert.

The family business, based in Rhayader, made its own heartwarming advert for just £100 compared to the retail giant's £1 million Christmas commercial.

Two-year-old Arthur Lewis Jones is the star of the two minute video which shows him sweeping, filling shelves and serving customers at Hafod Hardware.

Tom Jones, Arthur's dad who owns the store, says he's bursting with pride.

"Arthur comes to the shop most days to see me. The stuff you see him doing in the video isn't out of the ordinary.

"He was so good. They say never work with animals or children but he was a joy - I'm bursting with pride."

Two-year-old Arthur Lewis Jones can be seen sweeping, filling shelves and serving customers at the hardware store. Credit: Hafod Hardware

Hafod Hardware has been open since 1895 and has been passed down the generations.

Tom, 30, said: "It definitely resonates because it's actually family run. People always compare our videos to the likes of John Lewis and we try to get the same message across as the mutli-million pound adverts do."

Tom says the only thing they spent money on was getting permission to use the song in the video.

"The first year it cost us £7 and last year it didn't cost anything since I did it all myself.

"The only thing we spent money on this year was getting permission to use the song in the video, which cost us £100.

"I knew I really wanted this song as it's perfect. I got in touch with the singer and she said as it happens she was in the studio so we just needed to pay for the sound engineer."

The video has become a viral hit with almost 27,000 views on YouTube.

Tom said: "All the kids in Rhayader have watched it because they know Arthur. One mum told my wife to say she'd had to see it 11 times before nursery.

"People have come to the shop to see how much they love it. It's really really nice."