Concern in Merseyside as the cost of living crisis hits

Aziz Sherzad, owner of Formby General Store: ‘People will end up footing the bill. They always do.’ Photograph: Jane MacNeil/The Guardian

“We’ve been here for six generations and this is the first time we’re facing a threat to our existence,” says Kevin Hewlett of Hewlett Butchers in Crosby, Sefton, pointing to a photo of the original shop opposite the site of the Liver Building in 1859.

“Chicken prices have doubled in eight months, and we’re not alone in feeling the pinch. In the last six months the village has lost its post office and pharmacy.”