Skipton is losing one of its most familiar shop names after 83 years of trading.

Slater's, the town's oldest electrical and rental store, has been sold to Barnoldswick family-run firm Harry Garlick.

The Skipton shop has been going since 1923, but from Monday it will be run by the Lancashire retailers.

Brothers Wilf and Douglas Slater founded the company and introduced locals to the new world of broadcasting by assembling and selling crystal set radios.

The firm soon advanced to trading three-valve radios under the name Slayco and in 1929 Slater's became the sole dealer around Skipton of Murphy radios. At this time they also branched into electrical engineering.

But more appealing to the area's children the shop also started selling toys, with Hornby train sets running around the showrooms.

The shop's current proprietors Tom and Helen Clancy took over the business from Mrs Clancy's father, Ron Potter, who spent more than 55 years with Slater's, starting as an apprentice in 1935 and retiring in 1991.

The business has seen particular booms in line with changes in technology. Customers were queuing out of the doors to put their names down for rental when televisions came in.

And this only intensified in the late 1960s when the shop started to stock colour sets.

Slater's employs less than 10 members of staff and also has a service department on Brook Street, which Garlick's will not be using.

In a statement to the Craven Herald, Mr and Mrs Clancy said: "Slater Rentals have been sold to Harry Garlick Ltd of Barnoldswick. Harry Garlick is a family run business that is operated by the Scothern family. They are a very well established independent business with six shops and their own service department.

"They will operate from the same site on Skipton High Street and the changeover will take place on Monday January 30.

"The present proprietors of Slaters (Skipton) Ltd are delighted to hand over the business to another family run firm who offer the same level of service to their customers.

"Slater's management and staff would like to thank all their customers, past and present, for their custom and hope they will continue to support the new dealer."

Established in the early 1950s, Garlick's has its headquarters in Barnoldswick and specialises in high quality products and customer care service.