A SWALEDALE village shop is bucking the trend by submitting an application for expansion to the national park's planning department.

A growing number of countryside communities across the region have had to cope without their convenience stores and post offices as the owners find it increasingly difficult to compete with supermarkets.

However, one of Reeth's two village shops, which has already grown once to accommodate a Post Office counter, is hoping planners will sanction further expansion for a storeroom.

"At the moment, we have to share our dining room with a lot of the stock,'' said owner Jenny Curtis.

"We try to make sure we have what people need and we have had plenty of comments from our customers, who tell us they appreciate what we keep on the shelves.

"However, we don't always have the space we need so we have asked for permission to build a proper storeroom.''

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority officers will consider the project before deciding if it needs to be submitted to the planning committee for a vote.