Fair shares as village shop opens

MP Gary Streeter was the new shop's first shareholder

Shareholders who paid £5 each to help buy a new village shop in south Devon have celebrated its official opening.

The shares were part of a fund-raising scheme for the £100,000 shop in Aveton Gifford.

More than 500 people bought shares and a shop committee held fund-raising events, while the bulk of the funding came from loans and grants.

Local MP Gary Streeter, who bought the first share, opened the shop with villager Kate Helby, 89.

The last permanent village shop closed in 2003 when it became uneconomic and was replaced with a cabin, dubbed the Tin Shop.

The Tin Shop was closed in August when shopkeeper Tim Barratt took over the new wood-clad shop nearby.

Mr Streeter compared the villagers' fight for a new shop with the "spirit of World War II".

He said: "I'm very impressed with your community spirit and how you do things together to make things happen."

Mal Young, chairman of the shop trust thanked all those who had helped.

"We live in a village of people that really care," he said.

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