However, they didn't reckon with his 26 year old grandson Wayne, who has taken on the mantle and, indeed carried out considerable improvements to the shop, with new fixtures and fittings.


Ray started the shop in 1943, having worked as a dispatch rider delivering meat for Shearsmith's of North Kelsey and ran the shop continuously – he never had a holiday – until his death on March 3.


Wayne had been involved in his grandad's shop from the age of 13, helping out by scrubbing out the fridges and when he left school at 16, had a few jobs before going to work full time for his grandfather.


After Ray's death, Wayne was so determined to have his own butcher's business, he was able to save up £1000 and take on a meat round and was then able to take on the shop itself and also moved into the old house alongside the shop in which his granddad had lived.


He and his family and friends have worked extremely hard to get the shop completely refurbished and also build a new shop front, which was all opened up just last week.


"All the meat is local," said a proud Wayne "and we make all our own pies.


"I really must thank all my family and friends who have helped me out. It would have been hard to have got the shop open without them."


Villager Jennifer Lowes said she had a lot of admiration for him.


""We all thought we would sadly see the shop close, but thankfully Wayne had other ideas," she said. "He has obviously got his work ethics from his grandfather, who was working in the shop right up until the day he passed away."