Sweet All Sorts Confectionary: ‘I sell more than 1,600 traditional sweets in my tiny shop - but I prefer chocolate’

But there’s no shiny sign needed to attract customers into Sweet All Sorts Confectionery.

There’s a consistent thoroughfare of customers who visit this shop inside Carlton Lanes supermarket.

Alison Moore set up her sweet business over 30 years ago.

She said: “I was medically pensioned off from the police force after 15 years. First I tried outside catering, and baking cakes. Then I was selling chocolates.

“At the time there were lots of general shops selling sweets but no traditional sweet shops.”

Alison decided to research all about traditional sweets at her local library.

She said: “I was fascinated by the history of sweets, and liquorice.”

Alison built her sweet empire into 16 shops across Yorkshire selling traditional sweets.

She said: “The shops were really popular. We had stalls at fairs and galas throughout Europe.”

In recent years, she decided to semi-retire, and focus her efforts on this shop as well as the first shop she ever opened in Selby.

She said: “We sell over 1,600 types of sweets all from this tiny shop.We have 160 varieties of liquorice.

“I like that it’s small because customers need to queue to be served. This means that people end up chatting like back in the old days.”

Often folk can be seen queuing outside the shop for Alison’s collection of traditional sweets.

“I give liquorice talks to groups too,” added the sweet connoisseur.

But despite being an expert on all things sweet-related, she admits to being “more of a chocolate person.”