A South coast pet shop firm has been forced to close one of its three stores following the impact of a blaze a year ago.

The Pet Shop Guys, based in Bournemouth, announced on its Facebook page that it had taken the ‘heartbreaking’ decision to close its shop in Westbourne.

In a spocial media statement, the company said: “It is with deep sadness that after just 10 months of opening our doors, we have been forced to make the heartbreaking decision to permanently close our Westbourne store.

“As you may or may not know, on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, there was a fire at our Winton store just one day after signing the Westbourne lease. At the time we were very naive to how massively this would affect us, but the impact has sadly been catastrophic to all 3 stores and we had to make a choice.

“We hope that you will continue to shop with us at our Winton & Southbourne stores. Thank you for your custom. We hope to see you all soon.” 

Photograph courtesy of The Pet Shop Guys' Facebook page.