A TOWN mayor has appealed for a butcher to set up in vacant shops, saying pensioners are being hit by the lack of a meat counter.

Colburn has not had a butcher since the Co-op closed the meat counter when it took over the town's Quality Fare store earlier this year.

Mayor Tom Henry says pensioners and people on low incomes cannot afford to buy the pre-packed meats, and often end up only using small quantities of the items they buy.

He is appealing for a butcher to take over one of the vacant shops in the town.

"Pensioners who only want to buy a couple of sausages or two slices of bacon cannot do that anymore and it has a knock on effect," he said.

"They might only use half of what they buy and throw the rest away. Many of them don't have big freezers where they can store things.

"There are a couple of vacant shops. Hopefully, with a bit of publicity, we can get a butcher in here."