The owners of The Courtyard Cafe will be celebrating their eighth year in Ashby tomorrow (Frioday).

And the anniversary comes in the week the family-run cafe has been able to welcome customers back inside again.

The Courtyard, at 51A Market Street, says it is happy to be able to fully open once more after what the owners describe as a difficult year which has seen the town lose some of its businesses.

The cafe, owned by Helen Crawley, said: "We are hoping it's the end of a difficult year for so many.

"We would like to wish all of the new businesses opening in ashby all the best for their new ventures.

"But we are also deeply saddened for those who will not be reopening and either decided to close or unfortunately had no choice but to.

"It's so sad to have lost so many Ashby family-run businesses and, being one ourselves, we appreciate how hard the last year has been.

"We hope they have moved on to other things and want to thank them for supporting us over the last seven years! May 21 will be our 8th birthday and we wouldn't be where we are without our loyal customers and fellow Ashby traders that recommend us to their customers.

"Thanks everyone for your support! We hope you continue to shop local and support as many businesses as you can to help Ashby fight back from this difficult year.

"We hope to see you soon and will be open 9.30-4pm Monday to Saturday from now on (unfortunately we will be closed on Sundays).

"As usual there is no need to book (unless for afternoon tea in which case please ring 01530417610 during our opening hours to book)."