Butcher shop leaves customers hundreds of pounds out of pocket after sudden closure days before Christmas
23 December 2023, 21:16
A butcher has shut up shop days before Christmas leaving customers out of pocket as they race to save their festive dinners.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Butcher Neville Hallis shut up his New Forest Butcher shop in Lyndhurst without warning just days before the busiest meat day of the year.
One customer told The Sun about having to replace a £120 turkey with a £100 bird - with another losing £350 in a turkey and meat vouchers to the closure.
Read More: Christmas Day 'could be hottest on record' as only Scottish highlands to see snow
Punters have been left angry by the sudden closure - and have only been directed towards liquidators as they tried to recoup their losses.
A sign outside the shop reportedly blamed “high energy bills and slow custom” for their sudden closure.
One customer, who did not want to be named, told The Sun: “It’s disgusting he was taking money right up to the day before he shut.”
Local retired engineer Tony Herbert said he won £230 in vouchers for the butcher’s in a meat raffle, and saved them for Christmas.
He said: “I ordered the turkey about two weeks ago.
"I give it to a young family for their Xmas dinner. But then the shop shut with no warning.”
He added: “After he took over a year ago all he had in the window was Scotch eggs and pies. I think he has been a very naughty boy."
The Lyndhurst local pub, The Stag Hotel, has stepped in to offer the affected customers wholesale priced meat from their butchers.
Landlord Steve Harris said: “Customers are just very disappointed by the way it’s been managed.”
