text: Croxley Sports Shop owner overjoyed by community support | Watford Observer
  Shop owner on brink of closing overwhelmed by community support
  Croxley Sports Shop owner overjoyed by community support
  Cliff has been overwhelmed by the community support after fearing he would have to shut
  The owner of a sportswear store on the brink of closing has hailed a fellow shopkeeper whose quick-thinking saved his business.
  Cliff, who has been running Croxley Sports Shop for more than 27 years, hadn't had a customer for three weeks after footfall plummeted during the pandemic.
  The 86-year-old Croxley Parish councillor said he never got the hang of digital products and online marketing.
  But after hearing of his plight Linda Anderson, who owns The Kitchen Croxley, took matters into her own hands.
  A post shared by The Kitchen Croxley (@thekitchencroxley)
  She said: "It was absolutely heart-breaking to know he didn't have a customer for three weeks.
  "It was quite impulsive, I just grabbed a picture and said I'm going to make him an Instagram."
  Linda joked that Cliff, who she described as "a character", would have 20 customers but was shocked to hear the next day he had got 27.
  Other community members also threw their weight behind Cliffs' business and now it has over 1,643 Instagram followers.
  People including Watford FC legend Luther Blissett also pledged their support to make sure it can keep running for years.
  "I didn't expect what happened to happen," added Linda, as she expressed her delight at the parade "buzzing" with life since the pandemic.
  Cliff's Instagram account is now being run by 15-year-old Ella Rogers, who knew the owner since she was a young child.
  Cliff, who was a local councillor for 36 years, said: "I thought blimey, I didn't know that sort of thing could happen.