ONE of Wellington’s main traders is threatening to quit the town if business does not improve.

Paul Shipp, who took over the Mary Jenkins’ Farm Shop, a greengrocers in the centre of Wellington with his wife Kim four years ago, says he has since ploughed £100,000 into the business.

But he said yesterday: “I am seriously thinking of selling if my profit margins do not improve. I am making only half the money I was during the pandemic.

“Wellington is like a ghost town on Saturday afternoons. There is no one around. Most towns are really busy at the weekends.

“Everything is going up - and I have to pay my staff. My overheads are much higher than they were four years ago.

“I have tried to transform the business and make it better. But still I’m not getting the customers I would like.

“I lost 20 per cent of my takings when the post office just up the road closed. What I am trying to point out is the demise of the High Street. If people don’t support local shops they will disappear. The bakery on the corner closed not so long ago because it was not supported.

He added: “I’ve also had problems in the past with thieves. I caught one woman taking goods from the front of the shop. I know who she is and have provided police with the evidence but nothing has been done.”

Mr Shipp bought the shop from Jeff Jenkins who had run the business for years. He added: “I felt the shop was in an ideal position but trade lately has been very difficult. Hopefully, it will pick up. We have tried different things but even this has not worked.”