THE owners of a Burnham-on-Sea gift shop said 'high business rates and rents' have left them with no option but to shut their doors.

John's Shop, which is based on Burnham's High Street, has announced it will close on January 16 after three years of trading.

The shop, which sells gothic collectables and gifts,

Holly Francis, who runs the shop for her father, John Manning, said they will be closing the shop and moving all of their stock to their stores in Weston-super-Mare's High Street and in Victoria Square near The Grand Pier.

She said: "As everyone knows rent and business rates are the killer of any shop on the high street.

"We have been here for three years and we just found that Burnham is a very seasonal town.

"As soon as the holidaymakers go it is difficult during the winter season.

"The last four months it has been worse than the previous few years.

"We can't take the risk going into next year so it is a shame as we have some good regular customers who support us.

"The sad thing is that in December the shop we have in Weston's Grand Pier which sells fudge, buckets and spades has been doing better than our store in Burnham."

Holly said she has 'thoroughly enjoyed' her time in Burnham-on-Sea and hopes customers will come to the Weston store.

"We would like to thank all of our customers who have supported us during our time in Burnham," Holly added.

"Every one has been an amazing support to us and we hope that they will continue to support us by coming to our Weston stores.

"Weston is not too far away from Burnham and it would be great to have people from Burnham coming up and shopping with us."

The Weekly News has contacted Burnham Chamber of Trade and Commerce for comment.