A TURKEY supplier has been left with 200 birds following the sudden closure of a town centre butchers.

Frank Wright and Son butchers had been provided with turkeys by G and J Barron Farms in Chappel for 50 years.

The meat seller placed an order for the 200 turkeys in January ready for the Christmas trade but unexpectedly shutdown on Saturday.

Ross Barron, a partner at G and J Barron farms, said the news of Frank Wright and son's closure had come as a complete shock.

He said: "The news came out of the blue, we hadn't heard anything to hint at this coming.

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"We began providing the shop with turkeys 50 years ago when my grandfather George Barron started supplying Frank Wright himself.

"Over that time we'd built up a really good relationship with them but this wasn't expected at all."

Mr Barron said that he was aware Frank Wright had seen a decline in the amount of turkey they had been selling said his business was now looking for somewhere else to sell the birds.

"Their sales had been getting less and less each year which is probably a reflection of their customer numbers."

Frank Wright and Son opened more than 80 years ago in Crouch Street, Colchester.

A spokesman for the butchers said: "There's just not many people using butchers anymore, supermarkets are more convenient.

"In the last two years I'd say things have slowly gone downhill.

"It's the times we live in. It'll probably be a bar or something now, who knows."

G and J Barron Farms were established in 1943 and are based at Pattocks Farm in Chappel.

Overall the farm sees a turnover of around 2,200 turkeys each year and it is the supplier of turkeys for up to six shops in the Colchester area.

Mr Barron explained the process of getting the birds ready for Christmas is long.

He said: "We receive the turkeys when they are a day old in June and we put six months of preparation in so they are ready by the time December comes around."

"Obviously we feel sorry for the butchers and what has happened there but shoppers don't tend to think about the other businesses which are impacted by a closure like this."

He said he was keen for customers of the Crouch Street butcher to know who supplied the birds so customers can purchase directly from the farms.