A HIGH Street butchers is closing after more than a century of service in the town.

Buntings has been trading in Maldon since 1882, serving meats, cheeses, pies and pastries.

Stuart Meddemmen has been running the butchers for 29 years but has decided it is the right time to close the shop.

Stuart says he had no choice but to think about his health when deciding to close because of the stress of running the business.

He felt that there was no escape from work as it followed him home on his phone and social media.

He said: “In the end you have to think about your health.

“The downside to that is that you are making a decision that feels quite selfish. You have staff who now find themselves out of a job through no fault of their own.

“Then there are the extremely loyal, lovely customers that we have been lucky enough to have over the years, generations of families in some cases.

“Watching the kids grow up and then them becoming customers themselves is a great feeling.

“We even had a height chart on the door for one particular family to see how much the children were growing every month.

“Myself, Pat, Eric and Lorna and other members of the Buntings team over the years have loved serving, chatting, laughing and joking with the customers.

“We were always interested in what they had to say, and whether they were having a good or bad day I like to think they left the shop feeling better than when they came in... poorer but better!

“I loved and will miss terribly the great community feel of the shop. There is guilt for me there too, as I know for some it was a place they love to come, knowing they would get spoken to like a human being.

“I am sad to be the one closing the shop after 140 years of trading.

"I'm just crossing my fingers that someone will come in and take over with the same enthusiasm.”

Saturday will be the last day of trading for the butchers.