A special church service was held at St Anne’s Church in Hoxton to bid farewell to Anderson’s Bakery which has been feeding the local community for the last 160 years.

Head baker Colin Anderson, his wife Linda and their three sons, Mark, Peter and Simon turned off their ovens and closed the doors at their shop in Hoxton Street the last time on Saturday.

Colin’s great-grandfather Walter founded the family business in the 1860s in Falkirk Street, and Colin has been working in the bakery since he was eight, when he would sweep the floor and wash up.

Rev Christopher Woods, vicar of the church in Hemsworth Street, said: “Anderson’s is so much more than a bakery - it is a centre of the community where people can feel safe and welcome.

“They have always been incredibly generous to St Anne’s and indeed other parishes in the area, providing bread and cakes for our night shelter in the winter months, our soup kitchen on Saturday evenings and our youth club on Friday evenings.

“The church is well placed to encourage people to give thanks for what has been and not despair at what is to come, but rather pray and hope for the next chapter to be equally as warm and welcoming as Anderson’s has been.”

Members of the Anderson family read a lesson during mass and Colin and Linda’s grandchildren lit the second candle on the Advent wreath.

Bermondsey-based firm Monty’s Deli is moving into the Hoxton Street property.