THE owner of an award-winning bookshop, which is closing after 60 years, says the business has lost its place in the market.

Kaydee’s Bookshop, in Moor Lane, Clitheroe, will shut at the end of January with the loss of nine jobs.

Mark Bunch, the director of JMB Books Ltd, who owns the store, said that a fall in sales meant the business, which was crowned best independent bookshop in Great Britain in 1992, was “unsustainable”.

He also refused to blame the credit crunch, saying the way people bought their books had changed.

Mr Bunch said: “It is sad that competition from the supermarkets, bargain book-shops and, of course, the internet is closing so many independent bookshops.

“This was true even before the credit crunch and subsequent recession.

“The high street is changing and time-pressure on people means that going somewhere to browse, the very heart of the bookshop experience, is much less common.”

Mr Bunch took over at Kaydee’s six years ago and says he was immediately attracted to the appeal of the town.

“When I visited Clitheroe for the first time seven years ago, I loved it,” he said.

“It was very rare to find a town with so many small, owner-occupied businesses, the kind of shops that make a place individual and worth returning to.

“So much so, in fact, that one year after that first visit, I bought Kaydee Booksellers and became a part of it.

“Clitheroe will be poorer for the loss of Kaydee,” he said.

The announcement comes days after another historic business, Mercer’s, which has traded in Blackburn for 169 years, revealed it was to shut.

Mr Bunch said that he would like to thank all the shop’s customers from over the years and paid tribute to his “dedicated” staff.

He added: “We will be having a closing-down sale, please pop in to say goodbye.”