THERE was fun for all the family when a Basingstoke shop opened after a major refurbishment by the new owner.

Father-of-two Jon Dunman has taken over a former Premier store owned by Bob Gibson, in Elmwood Way, Winklebury. The new shop will operate as a Costcutter store.

Former owner Bob took over the running of the shop in 1984 and has become a popular figure in the local community.

However, the 65-year-old has not hung up his boots just yet and still works part-time at the store and lives in one of the flats above the shop.

He told The Gazette: “I took over in 1984 when it was closed down and I opened it back up and it has become very successful. I now work for the new owner and it has been lovely to meet new people and everyone still calls it ‘Bob’s shop’.”

To celebrate the refurbished store, which was totally stripped of its interior and replaced with a modern new look, new owner Jon held a family fun day last Saturday.

A host of fun activities were on offer for children including face painting, colouring competitions and a bouncy castle and even adults got in the centre of the action with toilet roll building competitions.

Those working up an appetite could enjoy hot dogs and burgers and the shop offered customers the chance to taste a range of fresh bakery products.

People attending on the day also got to take part in a raffle to win a host of top prizes including a new television and £50 worth of shopping vouchers for the store.

Jon told The Gazette that he will be speaking to residents over the coming months to arrange local charities they can raise money for, adding: “It has been a nice, big open day and thankfully the weather has been good. About 50 per cent of the customer base will live half-a-mile away so it is really important to engage with the community.

“I am very pleased with the finished project and a lot of hard work has gone into it. We have managed to trade the whole way through as we had a lovely set of old guys coming every morning for their newspaper.”