After 53 years in business, Reeves Racing Bookmakers in Wilton is closing.

A passion for horseracing inspired Henry Swanton, 74, to open the shop in 1970, when he was just 20 years old.

He was supported in his new business venture by his father, Phillip Swanton, with help along the way through the decades from the late Michael Sheppard, who served as manager for three decades.

Henry said many things have changed through the years. In the early days, betting shops were not allowed to show the races on television, with racing results being announced through speakers in the shop.

Later years saw the addition of electronic gaming machines, known as fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) which Henry said have helped carry betting shops into the 21st century.

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However, the saturation of computers seen at the locations of large, modern chains never took place at Reeves, which continued to use paper betting slips up to the very last day of trading on Sunday, March 31.

Henry said: “It was a very old-fashioned shop. This is what you would call a rural betting shop.”

Independent betting shops have become rarer and rarer since the dawn of the internet, which enabled people to easily place bets from the comfort of their armchairs at home. While large chains such as William Hill and Betfreds have held on, small standalone shops continue a sharp decline.

Henry said unfortunately he does not see this trend reversing, with high street betting shops eventually going the way of milliners, blacksmiths and icemen.

He said: “Unless you can change young people’s way of gambling, it just doesn’t fit into their culture.”