IT has been clothing the residents of a Hampshire village for generations.

Now a long-established dress shop in the centre of Brockenhurst has been saved from closure by a couple who have returned to the UK after ten years in New Zealand.

Mark and Jo Milbourn are the husband and wife team behind a new store called Reynolds – Jo’s maiden name.

Three people employed by the previous owner have been kept on, which means the couple have preserved jobs as well as the shop.

Mark, 56, said: “We’d opened a vintage, retro and collectables store in the New Forest and were looking to expand.

“We visited Brockenhurst to look at this building but after talking to staff and locals we decided to keep it as a dress shop.”

Jo added: “It’s been very hard work and we couldn’t have done it without the lovely ladies who worked here previously and are staying on.”

Reynolds was opened by Cllr Maureen Holding, who is chairman of New Forest District Council and also represents Brockenhurst on the authority.

She said: “We thought we were going to lose the shop and I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve managed to keep it.

“Brockenhurst is a lively, working centre that has the mixture of shops we need. Places like this draw people in, helping the other stores.”

The shop, which sells both male and female clothing, is thought to have been part of the village’s retail scene for about 100 years.

Residents say it was once a branch of Gieves & Hawks, the bespoke gentleman’s tailor based at Savile Row in London.

Brockenhurst trader Robert Wareham, who used to run the shop, said: “I’ve got another business in the village and didn’t have the time to devote to both. Mark and Jo have done a great job with Reynolds – it looks really good.”

The couple’s vintage, retro and collectables store, Millie’s Brocante, is in Ashurst. They previously ran a similar shop in Lyndhurst.