A COMMUNITY has vowed to find a permanent home for the village shop they saved after reopening it in a portable cabin.

The original village shop and Post Office, in Hyde Heath, near Amersham, shut its doors in March, until residents decided to take action.

They hope to find a permanent building for the shop before Christmas and say that it is still doing a roaring trade despite being in a hut.

Ruth Coulton was appointed manageress of the shop by villagers after the original village shop and Post Office, where she worked as a shop assistant, closed after Post Office bosses decided to move out.

She said: "We have a couple of places in mind as a permanent home for the shop but we have to present them to the council.

"It's actually quite cosy in the portable cabin and all the villagers have been marvellous in supporting it."

The little makeshift shop even has its own carrier bags, which reiterate the villagers' philosophy of support, sporting the words 'I love my village shop'.

But until a permanent home is found for the shop, the tardis-like cabin remains parked in the village hall car park, in Brays Lane, Hyde Heath, and has been for the last four months.

Sylvia Brown, Little Missenden Parish councillor for the area, said: "We are hoping to find a permanent home for the shop by Christmas.

"We needed to make sure the shop was needed and we had the support of the village.

"I think we have certainly proved we have that four months down the line."

Around 250 villagers turned up to a meeting when news first broke that the shop may have to close.

Cllr Brown said: "People were pledging large sums of money and it was amazing. It is a real village community effort."

While some people volunteered to work in the shop, others who were proficient with computers sorted the till system out and now a committee has been formed with four directors from the village.

Cllr Brown said: "All we need now is a place to call home permanently."