AN ERA ended in Southampton when Dave Bonney shut up shop as the city's last independent shoe repairer.

The family business came to an end after more than 50 years' trading - but at least Dave went out in style as a stretch limo took him to work in Bevois Valley.

It was just after the Second World War that his father - who always preferred to be known by his initials of A F - began the Valley Footwear Repair Service below their home.

"I was 13 when he opened the shop and when I came back from school, I used to help him and earn my pocket money,'' he recalled.

Leaving Central School aged 15, he joined his father full-time and was made a partner in 1961 so he could get a mortgage and moved to his present home in Little Lances Hill, Bitterne, Southampton.

He was called up for National Service with the RAF in Lancashire in 1952 and his father hired Ray Broadbere as a "temporary". He stayed for 43 years!

"He was never told he could stay but he turned up every morning,'' smiled Dave, 65. Although he has two sons and two daughters, none of them is taking the business on.

"It's time for a change, I have plenty of hobbies, although I shall miss the business, particularly the customers,'' said Dave, whose machines will be preserved after being snapped up by a local historical society.

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