COMMUNITY STARS Tarring shopkeeper David Reed up for award

DAVID Reed said he was “over the moon” when he found out he had been nominated for a Community Stars award.

David, the owner of Tarring Village News, was nominated in the Best Shopkeeper category by customer Linda Oliver.

Linda said: “I pop into Tarring Village News most days for my newspaper and am greeted with a warm, friendly smile. David even knows you by your first name.

“He is always upbeat, even at 6.30am, and nothing is too much trouble for him.

“He even got my favourite sweets in just for me.”

David, 50, took over the running of the newsagent and village store, in High Street, Tarring, 18 months ago.

He said: “Since I took the shop over, the support from the community has been fantastic.

“I’ve tried to create a place where people can come in to buy their paper and have a chat, and if an elderly resident is ill or can’t leave their house, we are happy for them to phone us and we’ll drop a pint of milk off, or some chocolate.

“I’ve also opened up the garden next to the shop for young and old alike to sit and have a drink or an ice cream.”

David, who lives above the shop and has to get up at 4.30 every morning, added: “It was a bit of a dream come true for me when I got the shop as I had had my eye on it for four years.

“It’s great to have this recognition.”

All Community Stars nominees will feature in a 16-page pull out special in the Herald and Gazette series on Thursday, October 14.

A voting form will also appear. Readers can vote in more than one category.