A SCHOOLWEAR shop in Rayleigh has stopped trading after four years of business and its devastated owner says a Facebook campaign against staff was partly to blame.

Sanderson Schoolwear, in Eastwood Road, which supplied uniforms for local schools, including Sweyne Park School and FitzWimarc School, closed on Thursday, October 10.

Owner, Sue Sanderson, said: “We’re closing for a number of reasons. Part of it is to do with personal circumstances, as well as the increasing costs of running a high street premises, such as rent rates and electricity.

“To pay the overheads you’ve got to turn over a lot of stock with a limited number of parents coming in.

“The trouble is, no one wants to buy schoolwear. They don’t want to have to replace what they’ve got.

“People are struggling as much as ever in this climate and as with any business, people are buying a lot less and making it last longer.”

“As well as this, a lot of people on social media, such as Facebook, have instigated witch hunts against the store and the staff. There have been comments from people that are not particularly pleasant, saying staff have been rude and commenting on the quality of the clothes.”

Mrs Sanderson said the closure would have a big impact on her and her husband, Craig.

She added: “We’ve lost savings, I’ve lost my job, and we still have a lot of debt.

“I’ve lived and breathed the shop for four years. It’s been my whole life so I’m very sad to see it go. We’ve personally known a lot of customers over the years, and I’d like to thanks them for their loyal service.”

The closure has left some parents in the lurch.

A parent of two young girls, of Rayleigh Avenue, Rayleigh, who asked not to be named, said he regularly shopped at the store.

He said: “I came to buy a school jumper for the winter, and found the store to be closed.

“I buy all the girls’ school clothes from here.

“The shop sells the uniform with the school logo on, so you can’t get it from anywhere else. It will be inconvenient for me, because I’ll have to find somewhere else.”