A NEWSAGENTS is hitting the headlines as it celebrates 30 years at the heart of Dursley.

Vijay and Tika Patel took over the town’s oldest newsagents shop in the summer of 1988.

And the Newscentre on Silver Street is still going strong three decades on.

Today Vijay and Tika can still be found behind the counter, serving the community.

“We’ve been so lucky to have so many great customers here,” said Vijay.

“We wouldn’t have survived this amount of time without the support of the local community over the years.”

“Our customers are like a family to us now,” added Tika.

“We’ve seen the children grow up from babies to adulthood, and they still come in and see us. They’re very respectful.

“We’d like to thank all our loyal customers for supporting us over the years.”

The couple have witnessed many changes in the town, such as the rise and fall of local industries, including Lister’s and Bailey’s.

But the shop has managed to continue to thrive throughout these changing times.

Vijay and Tika say the secret to their success is good customer service.

“To survive in this day and age, you need good customer service,” said Vijay.

“If you’re nice, nice things come back to you,” said Tika.

“We’ve also branched out, from being purely a newsagents, we are now an off licence and sell groceries too,” Vijay added.

The couple, who live in Dursley with their two grown-up daughters, hope to travel the world one day, when they eventually retire.

But don’t worry, Vijay and Tika aren’t planning on taking their well earned rest for another three years at least.