THE owner of a Kirkby Lonsdale Aladdin's cave is shutting shop after 12 years at the helm.

Michael Hodgkins, the owner of The China Bull Emporium on Main Street, said that he would be sad to say goodbye to the homeware shop which offers everything from cake stands to candles and cafetieres.

"It's going to be a shame for Kirkby Lonsdale because it's been useful for people who can't get out and about for bits and bobs," Mr Hodgkins said. "We are one of the dying breeds of those oldie-worldly shops.

"We try to specialise in having the older lines that people could not find anywhere else."

Previously called Armstrong & Pybus, the shop has offered household goods for some 30 years. However, Mr Hodgkins said that over recent years

"We have found in recent years that things have been more difficult because of trends in internet shopping and just found it more and more difficult competing with supermarkets who are going in to household lines," he said.

With a background in graphic design, Mr Hodgkins, 50, said that he may go back to that line of work but had no plans set in stone.

"I am quite excited and looking forward to something different," he said, adding that he did not know if the shop would continue to offer the same goods that it currently did when it changed hands.

"All week I have had people coming in saying how sorry they are that we are closing," he said. "We would like to thank everybody for being our customers the past 12 years we have been here."

Mr Hodgkins believes that the shop will be open until Christmas but may close sooner if all of the stock is sold.

Hackney & Leigh is advertising the unit, which it describes as 'renowned for its Georgian architecture', to let from early 2017.