The owner of an east Suffolk bakery has spoken of feeling "quite sentimental" as her business prepared for its last day of trading after more than 30 years in a market town.

Sarah Moss said The Bakehouse in Woodbridge's New Street would be closing on Saturday due to the pressures of rising costs, red tape and competition from other bakeries.

The closure of the business at the weekend has resulted in the loss of 18 jobs.

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Her late husband Neil - who died in a motorcycle accident near Snape in 2014 - took over the running of the Bakehouse in 1989 and his wife vowed to carry the business on following his death.

However, she said the last couple of years had been a "real struggle," especially since the Covid pandemic, with a lot of the bakery's trade customers, including pubs and restaurants, having closed down.

A number of bakeries now trade in Woodbridge, including Two Magpies, while in January artisan bakers Brownbread opened in the town's Thoroughfare. 

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Sarah Moss, pictured with her late husband Neil, in 2012Sarah Moss, pictured with her late husband Neil, in 2012 (Image: Archant) Meanwhile, the rise in the national minimum wage had also hit the business.

The bakery supplies wholesale customers and has provided produce to the likes of nearby Ufford Park Resort in Melton and Snape Maltings concert hall, among others.

Mrs Moss said: "I feel quite sentimental and sad about it because it was the family business."

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She thanked her staff, some of whom worked part-time and said some had found other jobs or were considering a career change.

Mrs Moss added: "The customers have been absolutely lovely and it is a shame because people have been coming in there every day for 30 years.

"It has been really busy all week and it is a shame that that many people did not come in before we announced we were going to close."