A shop that turned rebellion into mainstream success is shutting its doors.

Antoinette St Clair-Winston, the manager of Rag Freak in Cranbourne Street, Brighton, said she is planning to retire after 42 years selling leather jackets, ripped jeans, T-shirts and assorted paraphernalia to die-hard punks, goths and heavy metal fans.

Ms St Clair-Winston said the shop has become an institution in the city but that it had been regarded as an outsider when she started the business in 1969.

She said: “It was different when we set up – we were looked on as very much outside the mainstream.

"We used to do teddy boy fashions and mod gear but now the focus is on hardcore punk, metal and skinhead.

“We are a ‘Marmite’ shop – people either love us or hate us. The staff that work here are musicians and they really know their stuff.

“What we found was that as soon as we said we were closing we had people coming in every day to say we couldn’t go. We didn’t realise we were so loved. But it’s a family business and I want to do something else.

“People will still be able to see the Union Jack on the front of the store. The shop will become a newsagent but I have been promised that the outside will not change – it’s too much of a landmark.”

The sale was handled by commercial property agent Graves Jenkins, based in Marlborough Place.

Managing director Phil Graves said: “We were asking three quarters of a million pounds for the property and after receiving several expressions of interest we were able to achieve a deal very close to the asking price.

“It’s always sad to see an institution go but the fact that we were able to make a quick sale is a testament to the popularity of the area.”

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