Bournemouth DVD rental store Flicks closes after 40 years

Terry Whitaker started out at Flicks 27 years ago, when VHS machines were still in use

A DVD store that has rented films for almost 40 years is closing its doors, unable to compete with online streaming sites.

Flicks in Bournemouth, Dorset, started out in the mid-1980s, when VHS machines were the height of technology.

DVDs and videos from the shop will be sold off and any films left boxed up are set to be put into storage.

Manager Terry Whitaker said one of his suppliers told him there were as few as 10 DVD rental shops left in the UK now.

He said he liked remembering the "good old days" but people "watch films differently now".

The original Star Wars trilogy was found hidden in the store along with "heavy, bulky" VHS machines

When Flicks first opened VHS machines were still in use but DVDs soon took over and now streaming sites rule.

Mr Whitaker began working at the store 27 years ago.

"When I started it was part-time, then two years became 10, then 20," he said. "But it never felt like work, I've always enjoyed it here.

"I found some old VHS machines, they're heavy, bulky things, and we kept a stash of the original Star Wars trilogy hidden away. I also found two old Braveheart posters," the 50-year-old said.

"With a movie like Crocodile Dundee, people used to have to wait for it to come out on video, then they'd have to reserve it. Pretty Woman was the same.

"You wouldn't just walk in on the day it was released, you'd have to book or pre-book it before it even came out.

"Those were the good old days."

The stock from the store will be sold off and any remaining movies will be boxed up and go into storage

Mr Whitaker said streaming had made watching films "less of an occasion, definitely".

"Back then, you'd come in as a family and pick a film each and sit round, have the build up and watch it as a family and eat popcorn.

"But people just watch films differently now, on iPads, phones - people will have two TVs in their homes so they'll watch movies separately now", he said.

The store manager said he "wasn't too sure" what he would do once the store closed for good.

"I've got a couple of months to close down the company yet, then I'll find something else," he said.

"My favourite movie of all time? It changes, but the constant is Dances With Wolves."

DVDs and VHS tapes

• The VHS (Video Home System) standard was first released in 1976 and officially discontinued in 2007.

• The cassettes are about the size of a hardback book, contain magnetic tape and need a VCR (video cassette recorder) to be played on a TV set.

• VHS was the victor of the format wars of the 1980s, beating competing standards such as Betamax.

• VHS videos could also be used for recording up to three hours of broadcast from the TV.

• DVDs (digital versatile discs) were unveiled in the mid 1990s, and released in Europe in 1998.

• The discs are read by red lasers and could contain 8.5GB on each side, despite looking very similar to CDs which hold 650MB.

• The first release to top the UK DVD chart was Mars Attacks! in July 1998.

• The PlayStation 2 was widely credited with helping the rapid adoption of DVDs, as it used the format for most of its games when released in 2000.