AN independent bookshop owner, who opened his small store just three weeks before the current lockdown forced him to shut, says the rules are unfair because supermarkets have been allowed to carry on selling

Des Longhurst opened the doors to Moonraker Books in Royal Wootton Bassett last month, but along with hairdressers, beauty parlours, gyms and other non-essential shops it won’t be allowed to reopen until Wednesday.

“I feel angry because there’s a good chance that people have already paid for their Christmas presents and spent the little money they had at the supermarkets. We might have missed out on the Christmas rush because of this,” he told the Adver.

“I’ve still got to pay my rent this month, which I will do because it’s only fair on my landlord, but it’s going to be difficult because we weren’t allowed to keep the shop open and bring some money in.

“There’s been no advice for this. We have started a new click and collect which doesn’t cover anywhere near the rent for the month. There are worse people off than us, I know that, but I do think these things need to be highlighted because it’s just not fair.”

Des is working with his team to keep the business going by launching a click and collect, and delivery service.

Shortly before lockdown the shop was taking in £500 to £600 a day, but now it’s only taking in around £100.

He said: “I do have concerns for this business because there’s not much support. I’m determined to keep the shop because I do think the people in Royal Wootton Bassett and nearby deserve a bookshop.

“There are some people who could go to the supermarkets or shop at Amazon but they’re getting in touch and purchasing from us because they want to support local businesses, which is great.

“I do feel confident that people will come back once this second national lockdown is over.”

Because of his concerns Des has brought forward plans to open up a new section of the shop and get more stock on the shelves - a move he wasn’t intending to make until next year.

“It was the old Deacons storeroom, which will be opening soon, it won’t be refurbished to the level we wanted to,” Des said.

“But we will be revamping it as soon as we can and we are working on getting Deacons to do a pop-up shop inside Moonraker so we can help each other out.”

To use the click and collect service visit moonrakerbooks.co.uk/catalogue