SHOPPERS will be sad to see Westy stalwart Chris Savory go this weekend.

The 62-year-old will be serving his last steak on Saturday as he calls time on the butcher's shop that has been in his family for nearly 60 years.

Chris currently splits his time between his two businesses, the butcher's shop on Reynolds Street and his hotel The Maples, on Longdin Street.

He said: "I've split myself in two and I can't do it any more. I couldn't do another Christmas. This is the one that is hard work.

"It is a very sad day, it is not a decision I took very lightly. I've worked in here since I was 12 years of age, taking orders out on the bike."

The Savory family has been running the butcher's since 1950 and has seen the retail climate change dramatically in that time.

Chris said: "It was a thriving little community of shops but they've all gone.

"Most of my customers are regulars and some of my customers have been coming since my dad ran the shop."

He will be sadly missed by those customers, too. He placed letters in the bags of his loyal customers to let them know he was retiring.

Jean Green, a regular customer, said: "Everybody goes to his shop. We love him and we are going to miss him an awful lot."

He will now devote his time to the hotel and his grandchildren.