A beloved family-run toy shop is among the latest high street stores to close. BD Price has been selling bikes and toys to the people of Sedley, near Dudley, since 1865.

Almost 13,000 shops shut across the UK last year with a number of others set to close their doors this month. Major brands such as WHSmith, Iceland, Sainsbury's and Homesense have announced closures so far this year and they are now joined by BD Price.

The owner of the toy shop, Dan Price, has warned the closure is a sign of dark times ahead for the UK high street. Although the 84-year-old is set to retire, he explained how a lack of trade and reduced footfall has contributed to the shop closure.

As reported by Metro, he said: "We’re closing due to a combination of ages and a lack of trade, as footfall has decreased, and overheads have increased. People are just hard-up at the moment."

The business was founded by Mr Price's great grandad 160 years ago. He has run the shop for the last 60 years but is now unable to find a buyer.

He said: "I recently saw a man who said 'I used to make toy prams for you', but how many girls do you see pushing toy prams today?

"We don’t sell board games any more, either, people don’t play them, it is all click, click on the computer games.

"The majority of our customers today are older people who collect the toys and models that they had as kids for nostalgic purposes."

Mr Price cited the current challenges faced by retailers. As well as the national minimum wage rising, Chancellor Rachel Reeves recently increased the rate of national insurance contributions (NIC) to 15%. She also lowered the threshold at which employers pay NIC from £9,100 a year to £5,000 a year.

He explained: "Because we own the building, we don’t have to worry about rent. But if we did, we wouldn’t have been able to carry on. We do online sales, and that is what has kept the business going.

"This current government isn’t helping at all, you can’t increase taxes by the amount they have. The young lads don’t buy Airfix kits, its all click click, click on their electronic devices."

There is no exact date for the closure of BD Price yet, but the owner said: "It's sad, but I'm quite relieved to finally be retiring."