A POPULAR village store has been taken over.

Ben Parmar and Ravi Makapati have bought The Border Reiver in Otterburn.

Previous owners Joanne and Gordon Moore ran the shop for more than 20 years.

The sale of the business was completed on Monday (November 1).

Gordon said they have 'thoroughly enjoyed' their time at the shop.

"We got to the point where we thought we've taken the business as far as we could and it needed a new set of people to come in with fresh ideas," he said.

"We've gone through financial depressions, pandemics, foot and mouth - we've gone through it all.

"We've also seen local issues like the Percy Arms Hotel closing but we've weathered the storm.

"We've always had a good team behind us and the locals have always supported us which has allowed us to develop the site and invest heavily.

"The support has been phenomenal. We've made an awful lot of good friends.

"But we're not leaving the area. We are considering other commercial ventures locally. But we're not opening a shop 50 yards down the road."

After announcing the news on social media, the pair received many thanks and well wishes from customers.

Ben said for now The Border Reiver will be "absolutely the same".

"We have the pleasure of being the custodians of a legacy Joanne and Gordon created," he said.

"We'll be adding new initiatives and ideas as we go along, but in the early stages, we don't anticipate doing anything.

"It's about keeping our eyes and ears open and making sure the customers are all happy with the offerings."

The shop has a large selection of items, stocking everything from groceries to stationary and hardware.

The Border Reiver also has a cafe.