A FAMILY run store that has charted the technological transformation from wireless radio to digital television has been forced to close.

S Richard and Company Ltd, on Smithdown Road, Liverpool, has shut after more than 90 years of business selling electrical equipment and offering repairs.

Michael Richard, 70, who owns the business with his wife, first started working in the shop when he was just 16 years old.

He remembers cycling around the city with televisions stacked on his bicycle to save petrol during the Suez crisis.

And the store, founded by his grandfather in the 1920s, has withstood past recessions and even the Toxteth riots.

But on Friday it was forced to close for the last time after being bought by the city council for a regeneration project.

Mr Richard, 70, said it was a sad day for independent retailers.

He said: “They’re knocking my business down and planning to put up houses. We’ve known about the CPO for a couple of years but it’s only hitting us now.

“It’s a really sad day, there’s a lot of history in the shop and I’ll miss all the customers I’ve been lucky enough to serve over the years.

“It’s a shame that the big supermarkets, which soak up all the custom from this area mean that independent shops just can’t compete.”

S Richard and Company was originally based in Richmond Row, Islington.

The business then passed down to Mr Richard’s father Sam, and he established the shop in Smithdown Road in 1946.