A BOSCOMBE supermarket is calling out for urgent financial support as they reach breaking point amid the cost of living crisis.

Boscombe's plastic-free supermarket, Just1swap, has sent out an urgent public appeal for support.

Ellen-Jayne Haji-Savva opened the store in 2020. The supermarket has been 'hit extremely hard', first by Covid and now the cost of living crisis. 

Ellen threw all her savings together to open the store, signing the lease before knowing the UK was about to go into a national lockdown.

Ellen is desperately trying to keep the store open, she 'won't give up without a fight'.

Bournemouth Echo: Inside Just1swapInside Just1swap

Ellen said: "From January onwards, we have seen a massive fall in sales presumably due to the cost of living crisis.

"Just as the cost of living crisis hit we dropped about 60 per cent of our sales in the space of about two weeks.

"One of the main places where people are cutting their spending is on food, according to the government.

"We are very competitive with other supermarkets, we price match our products so shopping here would actually help people struggling. 

"We're not just about reducing the use of plastics it's also about reducing food waste by only buying what you need."

READ MORE: Retail sales drop in May as cost-of-living crisis sees shoppers rein in spending

Ellen is a fully trained biological and forensic anthropologist, she has travelled the world digging up skeletons and analysing them.

She was 'shocked' by the amount of plastic she would find, especially when working in some 'very remote locations'. 

Ellen said: "No matter where I was across the world, wherever I was excavating, we would dig through the top layer and it would be littered with plastic, it is really heartbreaking."

Bournemouth Echo:

She added: "After my dad sadly passed away, my mum said to me why don't you put your money where your mouth is, if I give you part of your dad's inheritance why don't you open the shop you have always been going on about.

"So I decided to do it, I left my job and signed the lease for the shop but it turned out to be unfortunate timing. 

"We struggled to get the word out during covid and just when we thought things were starting to look up, the cost of living crisis came."

"If things don't change, I can see us disappearing within eight to twelve weeks." 

Donate or find out more about Just1swaps fundraiser here.