THE game is over for a veteran sports shop owner in Witney after being hit by soaring rents and cut-throat internet competition.

Steve Handscombe has called time on his Topsport outlet in the High Street after 18 years of trade.

The 72-year-old, who still runs Topsport shops in Kidlington, Thame and Abingdon, said a 20 per cent increase in rent in Witney made it impossible to make a decent profit.

He said: “I thought, as I should have been long-retired anyway, did I want to keep on a shop I was struggling to make any profit on?

“I think independents are being slowly pushed out. The problem is the rent and rates keep going up, and there is too much competition with big stores.

“We are under so much pressure. I think in 10 years you will struggle to find any independent sport shops in any town.

“It was a little sad to say goodbye, but it was an economic decision.”

Mr Handscombe, who lives in Cumnor with his wife, said the big problem was customers coming in to look at his products, and then going off to purchase online.

The father-of-one, whose 20-year-old son William is currently training at the family Abingdon shop Fit 2 Run, added: “It’s a problem we see every time. People come in and look at our range of rackets and you can see them making notes, then they quote prices at us that they saw online. We can’t even buy it at that price from our own suppliers. They just want to get it the cheapest they possibly can.”

The Witney store stopped trading in January and Mr Handscombe had to let two full-time staff go.

He said he offered them positions at his other shops, but they were not able to drive there.

The empty building is now being converted into what is rumoured to be a health food shop.

Witney and District Chamber of Commerce chairwoman Lesley Semaine said a lot of local people had been sad to see Topsport go.

The landlady of The Royal Oak pub, also in High Street, said: “I know exactly where Mr Handscombe is coming from. It’s much harder for them these days, because so many people shop online.

“I think it’s very sad because chains don’t give the same personal service as independents. But sometimes the rents are just out of reach for a lot of independents. We work long hours and if profits are that small is it really worth it?

“A lot of people were sad about Topsport as it is part of our town, and it’s always extremely sad to see long standing businesses leaving.”