Once a staple ingredient of rural life, the village shop is fast becoming an endangered species as supermarket giants multiply across the country. But Whiteshill and Ruscombe residents were determined to save it from extinction, starting their own co-operative in a refurbished Portakabin. ALLI PYRAH checks out the convenience store that has pulled a community together.

PERCHED on the edge of a village playing field is a refurbished Portakabin with parking, a playground, coffee bar and some of the best views in Gloucestershire.

It sounds like an unlikely venue for a local shop but that's exactly what it is. And this is no ordinary village shop, either.

It was paid for, installed and renovated by its customers, who longed for a community focal point and baked beans on their doorstep.

The latter took several years to facilitate but a feeling of solidarity was starting to build long before the first brick was in place.

And eight years after the idea was conceived, Whiteshill and Ruscombe Village Shop stands testament to the vision, determination and teamwork of the residents.

Like most great ideas, the shop began as murmurs in the pub and chatter over the garden fence.

Geoff Warren, now secretary of the Whiteshill and Ruscombe Village Shop Association, remembers when the suggestion began to gather pace back in 1997.

"There was a growing concern at the time about the idea of community," he said.

"I think that was as much of a driving force as the actual convenient nature of the store.

"This is the kind of place where people tend to come and stay a lifetime. So we have a large proportion of elderly people here.

"During the 1990s the provision of public transport decreased. So that was a factor, but I think it was more this feeling of togetherness. This group of people thought, 'let's get together and make a go of it'."

Enthusiastic residents carried out a survey, which indicated overwhelming support for a local shop. Soon, a formal management committee was set up with a constitution, a chair, treasurer and secretary.

Fund-raising started and villagers lent more than £6,000 of their own money to the cause. Whiteshill and Ruscombe Parish Council donated another £1,000.

But funds still fell a long way short of the total needed to turn the shop into a reality and the community's generosity had been stretched to its limit.

Just when the committee was about to give up, Stroud District Council intervened at the 11th hour, stumping up the £5,000 needed to move things forward.

A site near the playing field and car park was identified as the best location.

After planning permission was granted, a Gloucester school donated an unwanted cabin which was transported to the site at half the normal cost through local contacts.

A local builder and a some of the village's retired residents then transformed the battered hut, cementing it into place with bricks and smartening up the exterior with a new paint job.

Heaters were donated for the inside along with crockery and cutlery for the cafe. Health and safety laws required a toilet, so a second-hand disabled-access Portaloo was also installed on the site.

The Co-op and Sainsbury's were contacted for permission to stock their brands and the shop became a reality. Within two years all loans were repaid.

The shop now opens seven days a week and is entirely staffed by volunteers, mainly retired people or mothers with children at school.

It stocks groceries, newspapers, DVD rentals, local products as well as housing a lending library and a cafe.

A basket survey last summer identified the shop as being 19% cheaper than other local shops, with prices only marginally more expensive than the big supermarket chains.

The shop the community built has silenced its critics, standing as an physical reminder of its customers' optimism.

More volunteers are always needed to help run the shop. Full training is given and there are a variety of roles, from a couple of hours a month in stock control to coming up with ways to expand the services.

The shop is open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm on Saturday and 9am to 11am on Sunday. Anyone who would like to volunteer can contact Mary Watkins on 01453 766277.