A former shoe shop which was once a town's oldest family-run business has been put on the market for £500,000.

C.G. Earl and Son in Ashford's Hythe Road closed in February after more than 110 years of trading and now the building is listed as a 'unique development opportunity'.

It is made up of two units, the first has the ground floor commercial space and a workshop with a one bedroom apartment above.

Attached is a three-bedroom house, but estate agents Andrew and Co, which is listing the property, says it has scope to be converted into "multiple dwellings or even a mixture of commercial or residential properties".

There are also two garages at the back which "offer the opportunity for further development" subject to planning permission.

C.G. Earl and Son, which sold shoes, belts, boots and work footwear, was set up by Clarence George Earl in 1912.

It moved to Hythe Road in 1921 having been passed down to Clarence's son Ron and his wife Joyce, and then to Ron's son Peter and his wife Angie.

The pair had originally planned to close the shop before Christmas last year, but remained open through January to shift the remaining stock.

Sophie Elgar, owner of nearby Osteopathic Physiotherapy Sports Clinic, says it is a shame to see the shop empty after all these years, and would like it to be replaced with an independent community cafe.

"A lot of people who work on the Henwood Industrial Estate always come down to Tesco for their lunch so a cafe would work really well," she added.

"One that does art and craft bits for children in the half term, something that helps the community.

"I wouldn’t want to see a chain, I’d really hate it if it became a Starbucks or something.

"A lot of us used to buy our shoes for work there so it's very sad that it's gone."

The property has only been on the market since Tuesday but Furley ward Cllr Euan Anckorn (Lab) hopes it will not sit empty for too long.

He said: "I would like to see local businesses have the chance to fill the space and create employment and a good experience for people in the area, but it's up to the market to decide exactly what kind of shop should go there.

"I would prefer to see it stay as a shop, I certainly wouldn’t want it to be split up into too many apartments as there are already a lot of houses of multiple occupancy in my ward, and I'm concerned about the ability of our local services to support as many as there are currently.

"We don’t want to see the site shuttered for too long but the economy is in a difficult state at the moment so it could take time."