Landlady Sue Smith has opened a store inside The Sutherland Arms in Tibberton, near Newport

A Shropshire landlady has come to the rescue of villagers who faced travelling miles to their nearest shop — by opening a store for them in her pub.

Villagers in Tibberton, near Newport, feared that they would have to travel a long distance just to pick up a pint of milk or collect their papers after Tibberton Stores shut its doors last Saturday.

But the very next day, a new shop was opened in the Sutherland Arms pub.

Landlady, Sue Smith, 52, swung open the doors of Suthy Stores on Sunday and she has promised to provide the services of an old-fashioned corner shop.

“There was big concern in the village when the shop was going to close,” she said.

“There was a parish meeting and I suggested getting a shop here and all of the parish council voted for it, so we went ahead.

“The village shop closed on Saturday so it would have been without a shop and it’s a shame to lose it, so the residents are very supportive. People are happy they don’t have to travel a long way to get their papers and things like that.

“The shop will sell newspapers and general things, the same as you would get in any corner shop and we are using a lot of local produce so it will be an old-fashioned corner shop.”

Councillor Ann Ridgway, from Tibberton and Cherrington Parish Council, explained that there had been another idea put forward to replace the original village shop.

She said: “When people in the village heard the shop was closing, one or two parishioners put the idea forward of having a community shop with village people running it.

“They came with that idea to the parish council but in the meantime Sue had put forward the idea of opening a shop. The council gave Sue their full backing and we are deligh- ted she has opened. We wish her every success.

“The shop is very, very attractive. I have only been outside it but it looks like something from a Dickens novel.”

The shop is open Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 1pm and 3pm to 6pm. On Saturdays it will be open from 7.30am to 6pm and on Sundays from 8.30am until noon.

By Jason Lavan