COUNTRY Harvest food store and cafe, near Ingleton, has decided to close despite being a food outlet and allowed to stay open.

Owner Mike Clark said: “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Country Harvest.

"During the coronavirus we have done our very best to help our local customers, we set up a takeaway service and a delivery service hoping this would help those most in need.

“However we have been inundated with customers, many from far afield and many not observing social distancing.

"We don’t have huge aisle space and there are places where the social distancing rule is almost impossible when we have large numbers of people in the shop as we did at the weekend.

“As business owners, when we can’t guarantee the safety of our staff, it has to be time for us to close - no matter how hard the decision is and its impact on the wider community.

“We hope you understand how incredibly difficult and upsetting this decision has been for us as we want to support our local community where we all live.

“Keep safe and we look forward to seeing you all when this terrible pandemic is over.”