Fleetwood fish and chip shop closes after 123 years

The 45-year-old thanked his customers, staff and “the good people of Fleetwood”, saying he had “made many friends over the years”.

He said he had not wanted to be the one who ended the shop’s 123-year run.

“But, if it isn’t a viable business, what can you do?” he said.

Mr Farrell said he was determined the Dolphin would not be forgotten and asked customers to write their memories of the fish and chip shop and post them through the letterbox before New Year’s Day.

He would then put them in a time capsule and hide it in a wall in the building with a letter “explaining the history of Fleetwood’s oldest chippy”, along with menus and newspaper cuttings, he said.