Kim BriscoeThe Beatles released their first album, Martin Luther King made history with his 'I have a dream' speech and JFK was assassinated in the year that Tony Tacon opened his electrical store.Kim Briscoe

The Beatles released their first album, Martin Luther King made history with his 'I have a dream' speech and JFK was assassinated in the year that Tony Tacon opened his electrical store.

Now, 47 years later he has finally decided to shut up shop and will be closing his Brundall-based Tacon Refrigeration and Electrical premises.

Mr Tacon said it had become increasingly difficult to compete with internet sales of electrical appliances and he felt now was a good time to retire.

The 85-year-old said: 'We used to sell fridges where you had to fill them up with paraffin and light it underneath them and Hoover was the only cleaner on the market.

'Even the cookers stood on Queen Anne legs and you could have any colour as long as it was grey.

'Things have changed an awful lot, and not for the better.

'A lot of the old appliances are still going. I have got an old Hoover sitting here in the shop that has come to be repaired and which was made just after the war and it's still going strong. It just needs a new belt.

'People tend to buy through the internet now and when things do break it doesn't pay to repair them any more as the parts are so expensive.'

The shop, and the electrical contracting part of his business, is due to close at the end of April, much to the dismay of many of the older people in the village.

Mr Tacon, who has been working part time in the shop for the past couple of years and plans to 'have a rest' now he is finally retiring, said: 'It's nearly all older people who come in the shop and who can't be bothered to go into the city to find anything cheaper, but they are all very sad we're closing.'

The grandfather-of-four set up his own business after working in an electrical shop in Norwich.

He said: 'I thought 'I don't want to work for someone else all the time, I'm going to form my own business', so I decided to try on my own.'

Mr Tacon, who was born three miles from his shop and now lives just two miles away with his wife Ann, said starting his own business from a shed in 1963 was 'a darn sight easier than staying in business now'.

He said: 'The overheads are so great now and with the recession it's all taking its toll. I'm afraid now's the time to get out.'

Do you have a quirky story for the Evening News? Contact reporter Kim Briscoe on 01603 772419 or email kim.briscoe@archant.co.uk.