Residents of Winterbourne Abbas in Dorset, together with local commuters and passing drivers, have been celebrating the re-opening of the village forecourt and shop by Top 50 Indie Chartman Retail.

Situated on the busy A35 between Bridport and Dorchester, the business closed last year and then was sold to Chartman.

After a refurbishment, the site has reopened with a newly branded Spar store and fuel supplied by Murco, under a deal that has two years to run.

Costa Coffee has been included in the shop, and sales reached nearly 100 cups a day just three days after opening.

However, Chartman director Clive Sheppard said the reopening is only an interim measure to re-establish the business, and Chartman has secured planning approval to redevelop the forecourt with a 2,000sq ft shop.

He explained: "It is an old site and is not up to the standards that Chartman aspires to."

For Sheppard and fellow director, John Hartshorne, the acquisition is something of a home-coming as the pair started working together not far away at the former Lodmoor filling station, in Weymouth, which John managed at the time.

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