A CONSUMER boycott of Terry's chocolates may be gathering pace in protest at the decision to close the York factory.

Several people have told the Evening Press they will not be buying any more Terry's confectionery, and urged others to do the same.

A city shopkeeper says he has noticed that sales of goods from the factory appear to have fallen since the closure announcement was made.

Gary Mainprize, proprietor of Maynews shop in Bishopthorpe Road, said customers were angry about Kraft Foods' decision to switch production to Europe, and he wondered if sales of products such as Chocolate Orange had dropped as a result.

"We are one of the closest shops to the factory and many of our customers work there, and everybody is fuming about it," he said. "People are very unhappy."

He said many customers had been signing the Evening Press petition calling for Terry's to remain in the York area, even though they had doubts whether the campaign could succeed.

Several readers have written to the paper to say they will not now be buying Terry's chocolates again.

One person said in Wednesday's letters column: "I shall never eat another Terry's product again, and I am letting my family and friends know I want no more Terry's gifts."

A man who contacted the paper to say he had long worked at Terry's and was saddened by the loss of the only workplace he had ever known said: "My own opinion, for what its worth, is that when our products are shipped away and made all over Europe, sales of these products will dip in our own country, due to the disgust felt by the British public over the closure of one of our great and historic companies."

But John Kirk, of the GMB union, said any decline in sales would "not be helpful" at this stage, as it was seeking to persuade Kraft to move to a new purpose-built factory in the York area.

A Terry's spokeswoman said the company had received only a handful of letters and emails from customers saying they would not buy the chocolates as a protest, and did not believe a major consumer boycott was happening.

She said each customer was being replied to individually, and had been told why the closure decision had been taken and also reassured that the product would remain the same even if made abroad.

Updated: 08:29 Friday, April 30, 2004