ONE of Grays' iconic stores is to close at the end of the month due to rising costs – and it will leave a huge gap in the lives of local pet owners.

Ian Divers is one of the owners of the Trop Shop on Orsett Road in the town and in an emotional video he tells how rising costs – capped by a 30 per cent rent increase - have brought about the death knell for the popular store.

Ian opened Trop Shop, a specialist aquatic shop, in 2008. In 2012 the venture added a reptile section and in 2013 a new pet shop next door. The pet shop was then incorporated into a double-fronted shop front.

Ian opened a second store in Ipswich in 2018 and a year later took over Brentwood Aquatics.

However, the current cost of living crisis and the huge rise in energy prices has combined to bring an end to the run of success.

In his video Ian, from Tilbury who attended St Chads School, expressed his gratitude to staff and customers who have supported the store in Grays for more than a decade.

He says: "Thank you to everyone, past and present that have made the shop such an awesome place to work and hopefully shop at."