G Scott of York has become the latest casualty of the economy when owners Tim and Sarah Oliver decided that it was no longer financially viable to continue with the business.

The six full-time and three part-time staff were informed shortly after the decision was taken on Thursday evening to close, and a handwritten sign was placed in the shop window informing customers.

Two of the staff had worked at the shop for more than 30 years.

General manager Will Anderson claimed a catalogue of pressures had built up in recent months, but the failure of clients in the restaurant trade and manufacturing industry to pay for orders had compounded the financial problems.

He stressed that the firm had not gone bankrupt, and the closure was an attempt to avoid causing further problems for its own suppliers, many of which are family-run farming businesses in the Yorkshire region.

Mr Anderson said: "I am afraid that this is it for Scott's in York."