A DELI is closing after the third break-in within 12 months proved the final straw after nearly three years of struggling.

Thieves most recently broke into The Deli at Farnworth in the early hours of Sunday, August 20.

They smashed the window and stole joints of meat and a laptop as well as charity collection boxes for the Royal British Legion and Bolton Hospice.

It was the most serious of the three break-ins at the shop, in the Market Precinct, which had all seen charity boxes snatched.

The shop had struggled due to the lack of progress made on the regeneration of the market since it was acquired by St Modwen, and the general decline of Farnworth as a shopping destination. Stephen Westall, who bought the deli with brother Anthony three years ago, said the third break in made up his mind to close the shop.

He said: “At 3am down here on a Sunday morning, I had had enough to be honest with you.

“We’ve been putting money into it to keep it going and that Sunday morning was enough for me.

“I live three-quarters of an hour away, in Garstang, and had to come all the way over here.”

But although the theft came as the final straw, Mr Westall said the stall had struggled to make money almost since he took it over.

He bought the original deli, which was a kiosk in front of where the current shop is, from Ann Hardcastle who had run it for about 30 years.

The deli moved into the shop in 2015 on the understanding that landlord St Modwen would soon demolish the old kiosks as part of its regeneration programme. Mr Westall also believed they were due to be replaced by ‘pop-up’ stalls.

But they remained up, concealing the shop, and those of its neighbouring traders, from potential customers. They were finally removed last month.

Mr Westall, says there are some new customers coming into the shop who were not even aware it was there as it had been obscured.

He added: “But the footfall has just been going down and down all the time.”

“I think there’s potential really, if the kiosks had come down a bit earlier then I think we might have had a bit of a chance .

“But I think the town itself is in decline.

“We have another side to the business, the wholesale side that my brother runs, and he’s been having to fund this side, which he has done for a good few months, but he can’t keep doing it.

“We’ve lasted as long as we can but it’s time to call it a day.”

He plans to close the shop on Saturday, September 16.

St Modwen were contacted for a comment but did not reply.