Jamie Harris

BUTCHERS already face hard competition from supermarkets, but a new threat is hitting stores across the county.

At a time when jobs are scarce, owners are claiming that not enough young people are interested in pursuing a career in butchery, making it difficult for stores to continue. The vast majority of butchers are family owned businesses, but less sons and daughters are interested in carrying on the business when their parents retire.

Ed Beddington, editor of online meat trade journal meatinfo.co.uk told us: "There's lack of succession, there's lack of young people coming into the industry to take on the reign, so when shops close these days, 9 times out of 10, its closing because the butcher is retiring and no one is carrying it on."

Experts predict that the number of butchers in the UK have fallen by around 70% in the last 20 years. In the 1990s there was around 20,000 butchers - today that number stands at just 6,000.

Mr Williams of Wincheap Butchers employs four butchers but knows that it can be difficult to find new talent. "Most youngsters want to go into computers" he told us.