A business which has been providing Romsey with a valuable printing and stationary service for the past eight years is today bidding a sad farewell to the town.

But Marquee Print, at the junction of The Hundred and The Harrage, is still hoping to maintain links with its Romsey customers from its headquarters in Bournemouth, where its printing activities are still in full swing.

The family firm was launched in Bournemouth nearly 30 years ago by Martin Hickman and his son Matthew, who is retail manager, said: "We worked so hard to build the shop up, so it is with a heavy heart that we have come to this decision.

"It is something we have been mulling over for the past two years and it was not taken lightly."

He explained that the main function of the Romsey shop was to bring in printing jobs - to meet the needs of small businesses and private individuals - for the main unit in Bournemouth, with the shop sales supporting that operation but not the main part of it.

"The shop sales were part of the business and we are glad that a lot of people have found it useful, but every now and then you have to make a decision which is not easy.

"It is very sad, but you have to move with the times," he said, adding that printing work orders had gone down following the upsurge in the number of people doing their own smaller printing jobs on their desk top computers.

But Marquee Print will be maintaining its links with its Romsey customers and is aiming to offer a free delivery service for significant printing work from Unit Two, Number 20, Wharfdale Service Road, Bournemouth, BH4 9BT. It can be contacted on 01202 769077 or through its website an marqueeprint.com