COBBLER Basil Sturdy is putting his best foot forward to walk around the Yorkshire Dales after retiring from a family business with a 170-year history.

But as Mr Sturdy, 65, wears out his boots he is facing a problem - where to get them repaired.

With the closure of his cobblers and shoe shop in Masham, near Ripon, there is not another cobblers for miles around.

"Quite frankly I don't know where I'll be getting them repaired, but I won't be doing them myself," said Mr Sturdy.

The Sturdy family boot and shoe business began 170 years ago when Charles, his grandfather's uncle, set up a bootmaking business in Silver Street.

It moved to other premises in the same street where it stayed for almost 100 years.

Mr Sturdy's shop in Church Street became its home for almost 50 years.

When news out of his retirement leaked out his shop was besieged by customers wanting their footwear repaired before closure.

Mr Sturdy said: "At one time I feared I might not get all the repairs done before I wanted to shut down."

Mr Sturdy joined the business as a 15-year-old, deciding to call it a day when he had clocked up his half century.

He admits to missing the buzz of his shop, but is looking ahead to wearing out his own shoes by breaking new ground and taking in some Spanish architecture during his first holiday for nearly a decade.