THE owners of a corner shop in Nailsea say they are being forced to sell up due to ill health and competition from a new supermarket.

Gary Summers, aged 47, and partner Marilyn Tomkinson, aged 52, have put Corner Stores complete with a family home, in Kings Hill, on the market, selling the newsagents as a going concern.

The couple bought the business four years ago and ran it with two employees until last June when a Co-operative store opened in nearby Hannah More Road.

Gary said: “We had to lose a member of staff because the co-op took some of our business and we struggled to survive.

“It is a lovely shop and it’s very sad.”

Marilyn currently works 13-hour days from Wednesday-Friday with one part-timer to help when Gary, who suffers from a lung condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is too ill to work.

She said: “We really don’t want to sell, we would love to keep it going but because the takings dropped we can’t afford to pay someone else to help when Gary is not around to set up shop.

“The pressure we’ve been under since the Co-op opened has not helped his health but we expected it from day one.

“We did think people would get bored and come back though.

However the couple are keen to point out the business is still a viable option, with loyal customers and will be an attractive prospect to a family living on site.

The shop is on sale with West Coast Properties for �440,000.