A RICHMOND newsagent has criticised National Lottery organisers Camelot after her ticket machine was removed because of falling sales.

Yvonne Leathley agreed a six-month improvement campaign last year to boost ticket sales.

She thought she had done enough and had been given a good report by a representative of operator Camelot. She then received a call telling her the company was terminating her franchise.

She appealed unsuccessfully and the ticket machine was removed from the shop in Cutpurse Lane.

She said: "The target is 1,400 tickets a week and it doesn't matter whether your store is the size of Tescos or not. We did our best but then we got this phone call out of the blue." About 600 people have signed a petition objecting to the decision. Ms Leathley said some customers had vowed not to play the Lottery again.

A spokesman for Camelot said the Lottery had to make as much money as possible for good causes.

She said: "We do all we can to support shops which are struggling but, at the end of the day, we have to draw the line somewhere."