A Peel commissioner is urging residents to shop locally to avoid the closure of local businesses.

Hazel Hannan, the chairperson of Peel commissioners and a former MHK, says business owners are 'taking a risk' by opening new shops in the town.

This follows the closure of Moore's Smokehouse in Peel last week, a local business which had been running for 141 years.

Mrs Hannan said: 'If people aren‘t prepared to shop in the street then, then that‘s what happens.

'We have some wonderful businesses in the street: Celtic Gold, Paradise and Gell, we’ve still got newsagents, we’ve still got handy person shop, do-it-yourself shop, a chocolate cafe, a really good butcher.

'These businesses are all fantastic, and there are some young people looking to start their own businesses in the street.

'We have an awful lot going for us in Peel and if people aren’t prepared to shop in the streets and use these businesses, then they can‘t exist.

'With regards to the people who are running these businesses, I have every thanks and appreciation for the risks they’re taking. These businesses deserve appreciation because they're wonderful.'

The local authority has discussed the possibility of sending 'welcome letters' to new businesses that have set up in the town.

Mrs Hannan also believes recent roadworks have contributed towards the lack of customers for local businesses, saying: 'The road closures put in place for works on the quay has also affected local businesses.

'That at times has cut the promenade off from the Mill Road to the the East Quayside and I think that must have had a a big impact on these businesses'.