THE owner of a longstanding electrical shop has decided on a date to shut up shop, “lock the door and go home to dinner, and that’ll be it”.

P. Squire owner Alec Holloway will be saying goodbye on Saturday, September 1, to the Bridge Street store where he has worked for 71 years.

But the shop may not be left empty for too long as Mr Holloway has already snapped up an offer for the town centre unit, by a buyer he wishes not to disclose.

He said: “It’s been sold three weeks gone, I put notices in the window two weeks ago last Monday at nine o’clock and someone asked at 11 o’clock ‘we want to buy your shop’.”

The Little Ann resident has also been nominated for the Pride of Andover Awards, and nearly 1,000 people have endorsed plans on social media to put Mr Holloway forward for Freedom of the Town honour.

On his nomination for Pride of Andover, Mr Holloway said: “That was nice, I appreciate that. I’m quite excited about it really but I don’t understand what it is all about.

“I have had my head in here all the time so I don’t know what’s going on.”

Resident Richard Rowles is looking to get Mr Holloway the prestigious honour of Freedom of Andover

He said he remembers P. Squire as the main electrical shop available in the town during his days at Cricklade College, now Andover College, as a student.

He added: “Nearly one thousand people after four days have said yes they think it is a great idea that is public support isn’t it and it proves how many people remember that shop.

“It is not just the length of time he’s been doing it, but he’s one independent store owner from before I was born in Andover and he has carried on until he’s in his 90s.”