FOR nearly two decades they have been familiar faces to shoppers in a Southampton community.

Rod and Frankie Bennett have been serving customers at the Card Gallery in Bitterne Village since 2000.

Now the couple are calling time on their Bitterne business as they prepare for retirement. However, the couple will be continuing with their sister branch in Chandler’s Ford for the time being.

“We have had a base of loyal customers through the years who we would like to sincerely thank for all their years of loyalty to us,” said Rod.

The Bennetts were also the driving force behind the setting up of Bitterne Village Traders Association, which has fought the corner of shopkeepers in the area for the past 10 years.

Rod went from shop to shop to raise funds for the association, and agreed on a retail business fee that was met by local businesses.

As chairman of the association, Rod also was at the forefront of setting up the Wednesday Bitterne Village market, which began in 2008 with aim of increasing footfall for the area’s businesses.

He said: “It made the precinct busy. People that have been in Bitterne for ages say they didn’t know about us until they went to the market and would come in over the next few days and it definitely improved our trade.”

Arguably the most memorable moment in the traders association’s history was when Saints legend Matt Le Tissier turned on the precinct Christmas lights in 2009.

“I had to introduce him to about 3,000 people,” recalled Londoner Rod, A Chelsea fan, who came to the south coast 30 years ago.

However, the couple are the association’s last members and they have chosen to let it fold and donate all remaining funds to charities.