HIS sausages might have been bang on when it came to winning awards.

But when it came to sales, shoppers no longer flock to Procter’s Sausages like they used to.

Now, after 23 years, the shop in Red Lion Yard off Colchester High Street is to close.

It sold a range of specialist produce including beef sausages, lamb and pork sausages, including those which were gluten free, as well as poultry, venison and burgers.

Company secretary Simon Protheroe blamed the store closure on the general economic situation.

He said: “It’s conditions we have struggled against for some years.

“The dynamics of the town have changed dramatically. There’s not the footfall there used to be.

“We have seen a dramatic change in people’s shopping habits. It’s out-of-town shopping.

“Waitrose on the edge of town had a big impact on us when it opened.

“Retailing has changed an awful lot, independent retailing even more. There’s hardly any of us left.

“The demand for unique mid-market food shopping has waned dramatically.”

Mr Protheroe said his business has tried to fight back.

He said: “We have tried an online, mail-order service but it’s a difficult place to be when you are going out with just one product.

“Those with a delivery service are usually about delivering lots of different things.”

Two staff will be affected by the closure but Procter’s will maintain its other shop in Ipswich and it is hoped its wholesale business will continue to grow.

Mr Protheroe said: “Wholesale is the model we have moved into.

“We are strong in the food service sector selling to hotels, cafes and restaurants in response to the retail sector dying on its feet.”

Mr Protheroe said Tollgate Village, a proposed leisure complex in Stanway, would be another nail in the coffin for the town centre.

He said Colchester’s “huge traffic problems” made it difficult for shoppers to get into town.

The shop’s last day of trading will be Saturday, May 6.