TRADERS in Ringwood are mourning the demise of a business that has traded in the town for 175 years.

Frampton and Son Ltd has been supplying pet and gardening supplies since 1835, but the lease is up on the High Street shop it has occupied since 1905.

All six members of staff are said to be heartbroken at the loss of their jobs.

Nearby traders are also upset by the impending closure on Saturday, February 26.

Antiques retailer Lorraine Tarrant said: “It’s tragic. It’s the end of an era. I just feel very sorry for Ringwood to lose such a prominent business from the town. It’s been there for ever.”

She said the loss of the business would create a huge hole in the town and leave some elderly people high and dry.

“I had a group of friends in here and they said we should have a black arm band on on Saturday.

“I feel that in the end we will end up with no High Street. It will end up with just the big supermarkets.”

Steve Kelly at Ringwood Sound and Vision said shopkeepers were having to cope with people buying on the internet and described Frampton’s closure as a sad loss.

“It’s a pity. It will be another empty shop, and that’s quite a big store,” he said.

Betty Dorricott at long-established watchmakers RK Dorricott said: “We’re very upset it’s going. It was quite a shock when we heard about last week.”

Rachael Fryer, a shop assistant at Health Foods, said: “It’s very sad because they are, basically, Ringwood.”

Another shopkeeper who did not want to be named, said her shop was on the market and the growing website side of the business moving to Ashley Heath.

She uses Frampton to buy dog and horse food. “There’s lots of shops closing in Ringwood,” she said.

No one at Framptons wanted to comment.