The Hermitage Coffee Shop, located within the grounds of Hillier’s Garden Centre near Newbury, is closing after 30 years. Hillier’s wants to run its own café at the centre and is not renewing the lease for The Coffee House, owned by local residents Beryl and Richard Pocock.

The Coffee House team marked the imminent closure with the presentation of £1,000 to the Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance (TVCAA), taking its fundraising total for the charity to more than £18,000 since the cafe opened.

Mrs Pocock said: “We have loved every minute of it, we’ve had brilliant times. We don’t want to leave, but we have got no choice.

“We have had such a lot of support. It has been my life and I feel very, very lucky that I have had a job for over 30 years that I loved doing.

“We weren’t quite ready to give it up.”

A farewell party is being held at the café on its final day of trading, on Sunday, December 21, at which all food and drink will be free.

“It’s our way of saying thank you,” added Mrs Pocock. “It’s going to be a very sad day.”