A POPULAR family-run convenience store is changing hands after more than 60 years of business.

J and O Hedley, in Spencer Street, Eldon Lane, near Bishop Auckland, has been run by two generations of the same family since the Forties.

Its owners, Barbara Foster, 60, her husband, Neil, 62, and Barbara's brother, Christoper Hedley, 63, are handing over the keys on Saturday to retire.

The siblings took over the store from their parents, the late Jack and Olga Hedley, who ran the shop from 1946.

Mrs Foster said: "I feel very sad to be leaving. I have a lot of great memories here and remember standing behind the counter with my mother as a child. We have a lot of very loyal staff and customers here and I would like to thank them all.

"It was really interesting to serve four generations of customers and the community."