A city centre bed retailer is celebrating 40 years of trading after helping generations of customers enjoy sweet dreams.

Stuart Butterfield, manager of The Bed Shop in Sunbridge Road, believes providing personal service and reliable advice has enabled the business to survive on the high street.

The shop, which has been trading on the same site for the whole 40 years, is part of a privately-owned six-strong chain in various Yorkshire towns.

Stuart said: “I believe we’ve managed to survive because our customers trust us. We do more than just sell beds. We provide advice and a first-class service which has seen generations of the same families buy from us.

“Such customer loyalty has enabled the shop to overcome the current trading climate by bringing in regular repeat business from existing customers and their families as well as providing new ones through word- of-mouth recommendations.

“Obviously, we have to be able to compete on price as far as we can, but that’s not always the main issue. We can supply beds from budget ranges priced at £120 to luxury ones with a price tag of £30,000. People know they can rely on us and that’s what makes a difference.”