Whittlesford shop stops selling frozen food due to energy costs

Cheng Gong said the energy costs were "too high" to keep powering the freezer

A village shop has decided to stop selling frozen food as the increase in energy prices has made it too expensive to power its freezer.

Whittlesford Village Shop in Cambridgeshire will switch off its freezer and sell it to recoup losses.

Business owner Robert Brown said he had to make the "difficult decision to simply save money".

"We have to stay in business and make a profit because if we don't, the shop will simply disappear," he said.

Robert Brown said he had to make the "difficult decision" to keep the shop in business

Mr Brown said energy costs had gone up by about 40% and the shop's electricity bill was £1,000 per month.

"This isn't sustainable," he said.

"Especially with a range of products that we do not sell a great deal of.

"We are disappointed we had to do this as we realise these small decisions for us do affect the community."

• Man, 78, to return to work due to cost of living

• 'I used to buy lots with £20 but now it's £40'

• Why are prices rising so quickly?

Chen Gong, who runs the shop, said: "We have always wanted to provide all the services we can for everyone but the rising cost of energy doesn't make it easy for us.

"We're going to sell the freezer so it should cut the balance hopefully for the loss we made in the past."

The shop said it hoped it could reverse the decision in future