Shopkeeper raising £160,000 after cancer diagnosis

A shopkeeper who has been told she has up to a year to live is trying to raise £160,000 to keep her organic food shop open.

Chris Giles, who owns Christine's Sustainable Supermarket in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, was diagnosed earlier this month with terminal pancreatic cancer.

Giles has rented the building for 20 years but the lease finishes in 2028, meaning its future is uncertain.

"If it's bought, it could keep eight members of staff on and the community happy," the 58-year-old said.

Giles said she was rushed to hospital in September for a heart operation which "no one thought I could survive".

While recovering, she felt pain that she believed was linked to her heart.

She returned to hospital, where doctors "found a shadow, either a cyst or possibly cancer".

She was then told she had pancreatic cancer. "They said I had at least three months to a year to live depending on how I respond to treatments," she said.

Giles, who worked in the army as a technician for the Royal Signals for 15 years, hoped to use her pension to buy the shop, however, she fears she may not receive it in time before the lease ends.

The mother-of-three said: "When I had the diagnosis, I realised I definitely don't want to leave my children in a mess, and because I know how much the shop is loved and wanted by the community.

"More and more shops like mine are closing over the years. I didn't want to leave the kids in a situation where they didn't know what to do."

She has now set up a fundraiser to save £160,000 to buy her shop, adding that her children "don't want to see it close but all have careers of their own".

Giles said the money would also allow help to pay for a part-time manager to keep it running.

She said donations "would be a really good way for the customers being able to show they really do care".

She added: "It would make me really happy to know that it's not all been for nothing."

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.