A SOUTHERN Co-op store near Andover has been forced to close because of rodent activity from a nearby river.

The Advertiser had been informed the store on High Street had been closed from Friday, March 3 to Monday, March 6.

Southern Co-op has since confirmed the shop shut due to nearby rodent problems but has now been re-opened.

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A spokesperson for the store said: "Due to increasing levels of rodent activity from the river adjacent to our store, we recently carried out immediate protective and remedial actions.

"We've been reassured that it's now safe to re-open thanks to our contractor who carried out these works to the highest possible standard. We take customer and colleague safety extremely seriously and have undertaken all required cleaning/hygiene measures, including the disposal of potentially affected stock, before re-opening."