A SKILLED cobbler has stayed in his trade after a shop bought his old equipment and gave him a job.

When bosses at Cox's Leather took the decision to retire and close their shop, Jonathan Clark was unsure what the future held for him.

However, those in charge of Peter's Footwear Specialists recognised a need to keep the skill alive, and bought Jonathan's three machines and asked him to work for him.

Tony Ellis, owner of the Two Church Lane shop, said: "He was without a job, so we took him on to keep the traditional skills going and carry on the services for Cox's old customers.

"We've always repaired shoes to a high standard but Jonathan does a specialist technique called a concealed stitch where the sole is opened up and repaired. There's a lot more skill involved and it's more time consuming than a normal stitch.

"This keeps a guy who is highly trained in work and benefits us because it adds another string to our bow and everybody still gets the service.

Jonathan, 40, said he felt like a weight had been lifted when he found out he would not be without a job.

He said: "I was lucky.

"I didn't quite know where my future was heading so for him to say there's a job here if you want it was brilliant.

"It was such a relief that I wasn't out of work, I just moved straight here.

"There's about three machines that followed me across here to help me keep doing what I'm doing.

"If anything it's a smaller working environment to what I'm used to at Cox's but overall I'm finding it good."

Cox's Leather Shop opened in Shambles in 1921, and for the last 30 years has been run by brothers Matthew and Philip Johnson.

However, the shop was put up for sale after no family members wished to carry on trading.