The Lion and Lamb pub in Ashton will be welcoming Andrew George MP to officially open its new village shop on Friday.

Licensees Graham and Elaine Martin have been running the Lion and Lamb for ten years and saw the demise of the local post office and shop five years ago.

Villagers have had to travel five miles into Helston for any essential items of shopping or newspapers ever since.

After approaching the organisation Pub is The Hub for help and advice, they discovered that they were able to apply for a grant from its Community Services Fund to help cover the cost of setting up a self-contained shop in a portable building in the pub’s car park.

They have used the £3,500 grant to pay for the installation of an electricity supply, CCTV cameras and ramp and step into the shop for full accessibility.

Serving newspapers, local produce and other essential and convenience items, the Lion and Lamb Community Shop will be open between 8am and noon from Mondays to Fridays, 8.30am to noon on Saturdays and from 9am to noon on Sundays.

Vegetables are being supplied by local farmers, fruit from Westcountry Fruit, milk from Mounts Bay Dairy, bacon, ham and sausages from St Ives Food and greetings cards from local artists.

The shop is being staffed by volunteers Olivia Antoniuy and Teresa Babbage, who both also work in the pub, and by local resident, Karen Willey who wanted to support the venture and help it to take off.

Landlady Elaine said: “Since taking on the pub ten years ago we have witnessed the decline of services in the area for our community, practically leaving us as the last business standing. We have also followed the changing nature of the leisure market and realised that long-term business sustainability has to come from diversification.

“We’re hoping that both the shop and pub feed off each other to maintain footfall.”

Reg Clarke, regional advisor for Pub is The Hub said Graham and Elaine had done a “tremendous job.”

“In common with many other fantastic licensees it has placed themselves at the heart of their community,” he said.

Pub is The Hub’s Community Services Fund was set up with funding from the government and drinks manufacturer Diageo PLC in April 2013 to help UK pubs diversify into areas such as post offices, shops, libraries and even cinemas.