WHILE the recent snowy weather hit some chain stores hard, it proved a boon for community-owned village shops in the county.

Many people were unable to drive to supermarkets, so the volunteer-run shops enjoyed record sales, with some reporting increases in turnover of up to 285 per cent.

Eighteen not-for-profit shops have sprung up around Oxfordshire over the past decade to replace closed general stores and preserve services such as post offices in rural communities.

Ascott-under-Wychwood’s village shop reported a record increase of 90 per cent in trade from Saturday, December 18, to Tuesday, December 21, and 38 per cent for the month.

East Hagbourne saw a 40 per cent increase for December.

But the biggest increase was at Wootton-by-Woodstock Community Stores, which reported a massive 285 per cent rise on Saturday, December 18, when the shop took a total of £650.

It enjoyed a 133 per cent increase in takings on the Sunday and a 312.5 per cent increase on the Monday, when it took £1,000, compared with £320 a year earlier.

Carol Bateman, of Appleton Community Shop, which took £600 more than in December 2009, admitted part of the reason was panic buying.

She said: “That’s always the way, but we hope they will be coming back now that they know we’re here. A lot of people realise that if they don’t use it, there may come a time when we won’t be here.”

About 90 villagers are on a volunteer rota to support two paid part-time assistants.

Ms Bateman said: “People ask why we need so many volunteers, but it’s like a big jigsaw. One person buys wine, others unpack the fruit and veg. That’s without the checkout – the shop is open 12 hours a day.”

Maralynn Smith, shop manager at Islip, said December 2010 takings were 39 per cent up on 2009. She added: “We had huge orders for Christmas supplies – £1,000 of orders for the butcher alone – as well as massive orders for vegetables and bread.”

In 1991 there were 33 community-owned shops in the UK.

There are now 251, most of which have been supported by rural community councils and Woodstock-based charity the Plunkett Foundation.

Plunkett spokesman James Alcock, said: “At a time when retail giants were struggling to receive deliveries, the community-owned shop movement, which often relies on locally-produced food for stock, is proving it is both resilient and backed by the whole community.”