Pet shop owner Kevin Shaw is being forced to close his business in Forest Gate, East London, because of regeneration work in the area.

Kevin, the owner of Smallholders Pet, Garden and Aquatic Centre in Woodgrange Road, said the closure was a result of the area being gentrified.

“A lot of the buildings are getting turned into flats,” he told the Newham Recorder.

The shop opened in 1948 and Kevin took it over 19 years ago, having worked there after school and on Saturdays since he was a teenager. When he left school at 15, he began working there full time.

He told the Recorder he has three months left before he goes for good.

Kevin announced the closure on the shop’s Facebook page and customers admitted they were sad at the news.

He said: “With rent being so expensive now, I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford another shop around here – it might have to be closer to where I live, in Essex.”

The full Newham Recorder story can be read by clicking here