A ROMSEY opticians has closed its doors to the public.

Mark Freeman Opticians in the Market Place ceased trading on July 11, according to a notice on the building.

The optician had over 30 years of experience in the eye care sector and provided private and NHS eye examinations.

Romsey Town Centre Manager, Mark Edgerley, said: "I was told earlier in the week the shop was going to close and I have no doubt Mark has suffered because of the works in the Market Place which have been going on.

"Mark also said to me several months ago that we probably have too many opticians in Romsey. They are all good businesses that are welcome in the town, but if there are not enough customers to go around you end up with somebody having to give up."

A partner at Beacon Insolvency Practitioners, Matthew Fox, said: "We have been dealing with it for the last couple of days and it will go into liquidation by the end of the month.

"We understand that most people have been contacted about this already and we are helping customers who are due to collect glasses."

The president of the Romsey and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Peter Speirs, said it was a "great shame to lose another independent store".

Mark Freeman Opticians also held hundreds of spectacle frames and had access to the latest lenses available.

Councillor Mark Cooper, who represents Romsey Tadburn on the borough council, said: "It is always sad to hear that businesses are closing, but the great thing about Romsey is it has a very reopening of shops. There are also plenty of growing businesses out there and I look forward to seeing what is going to go into the same premises."

Janet Burnage, who represents Romsey Cupernham, said: "It is a shame to see any business go under. It is a small business and it has been there for about 12 years.

There has always been an opticians in that building as well, because the man who was there before he retired sold it to Mark Freeman."