THEY were once a familiar sight on every high street.

But in recent years, family butchers shops have become increasingly rare, killed off by fierce competition from the big supermarkets.

However, this week a new independent butchers opened in Stroud - bringing a welcome touch of traditional retailing back to the heart of town.

Tony's Butchers in Kendrick Street offers a variety of meat produce plus fruit, veg and cheeses and there is also a deli counter.

Owner Tony Spencer, 32, is supplied by Godsells Farm in Leonard Stanley and makes his own free range sausages.

Tony, who runs another butchers in King's Stanley, is a strong believer in independent traders, saying they offer fresher food with better customer service.

"Our food is fresh from the farm, whereas supermarkets get produce from further a field so it's not local," said Tony, from Uley.

"Local traders are the heart of the retail industry.

"Shops like ours have open counters so customer can pick what they want whereas in the supermarkets it's mainly pre-packed so there's not so much choice.

"Also with a traditional butchers you get better one-to-one service."

He has been delighted with the amount of interest since opening last Thursday.

"I had a great response from customers on the first day, everyone was pleased Stroud had an independent butchers again," said Tony, who has the trade in his blood - his father Phil opened the King's Stanley branch in 1991.

Tony took over the business three years ago but Mr Spencer senior has been keeping his hand in, helping with the new outlet.

"I decided to move to Stroud because it's a nice area and I wanted to expand and promote local produce," added Tony, who asked to thank his partner Sinead for all the hard work she has put into the new shop.