THE forerunner of a town's charity retail empire has drawn the shutters on 42 years of trading in the town, because of too much competition.

Oxfam is heralding the closure as the end of an era which started in Bishop Auckland back in 1958.

The charity's Northern regional headquarters were based in the town for a decade, and retail outlets soon spread to Billingham and Hartlepool.

But a rash of fundraising shops has appeared in the town since then, and charity bosses have decided to pull the plug on their operations in Bishop Auckland, making it the third charity casualty in as many years.

Area retail manager for the East and Northern region, Sue Carter, said: "The increase in the number of charity shops in Bishop Auckland has meant that our income has dropped significantly in recent years.

"The footfall has dropped as members of the public shop near the supermarket in the centre of the town.

"Two other charity shops have closed in the last couple of years - Barnados and Cancer Relief - which were next door to our shop."

Local trader Stephen Gregory, who serves on both the district and county council, believes there has been an explosion of charity-run premises in the town.

He said: "The town is in a real decline that we have got to have so many charity shops on the High Street. This town used to have good quality but we have got all these shops jumping on the bandwagon.

"Don't get me wrong, the charities do a good job, but it is the number of them that is a problem."

Coun Gregory's family-run butcher shop has been in Newgate Street for 150 years.

He said: "Oxfam was the pioneer of the High Street regarding the charity shops.

"It is a shame that they have suffered as they have. There's a niche in the market for some time and then all of a sudden there are too many and no one can make a go of it."