'400 village shops close every year': Meet the one bucking the trend

Residents in St. Mabyn have opened a new pop-up shop after their 100-year-old store closed down. Credit: ITV West Country

Residents in a small Cornwall village have opened a new pop-up shop after their 100-year-old store and post office closed six months ago.

Villagers in St. Mabyn were disappointed to see their village store close and rallied together to fund a replacement.

A 30-ft steel cabin has replaced the shop and has been renovated entirely by volunteers from the community.

It was announced that the village store and post office would be closing after 100 years. Credit: ITV West Country

Graham Smith, a volunteer at the new store, says: "400 village shops close in Britain every year, that's more than one a day. By the time viewers see this another village shop somewhere in the country will have closed down."

The new pop-up has been renovated and will be run solely by volunteers from the community. Credit: ITV West Country

Neil and Gill Embley retired after running the local shop for twelve years, but are returning to manage the new store in support of the community's new venture.

Gill says, "We just couldn't see the village without a shop. We'd put that hard work into it for ten years and I just couldn't stand the village being without all that contact and people meeting each other."

The new community shop is a renovated steel cabin. Credit: ITV West Country