A SWEET shop owner who has been a fixture on Frinton’s famous Connaught Avenue for more than 50 years has retired.

John Richardson opened his shop, named Bambi, on the Avenue in 1957 to sell an array of sweets and cards.

The store is still a confectionary connoisseur’s paradise.

Jars containing sweets of every shape, size and colour are stacked up to the ceiling on shelves behind the counter.

And John has also been a mainstay behind the counter for more than half a century, sweet scoop in hand.

But he has now decided to call it a day aged 83 years-old.

He said: “I had to make a living for myself. I wanted to open a sweet shop and I came to look around.

“I saw that this shop was available and decided to go for it.

“Back then there were quite a few empty shops, and when I moved in I was told I’d probably only last three months. But here I am, all these years later.

“It’s quite rare to have one of these old style independent sweet shops about these days. People still enjoy the novelty of it.”

For the full feature on John's experience running Bambi, read this week's Clacton and Frinton Gazette - out now.