A group of travel agents refused to accept it when head office said they were being shut down - so they decided to buy the business.

Workers at Ambassador Travel in Cheam were told, out of the blue, that the company, including their shop in The Broadway, was being put into liquidation in January.

But the group of staff, who have been working together for several years, did not want to give up their jobs and decided to put up their own money to buy the shop and have reopened as Village Travel.

Worker Jennie Watson said: "We got a call from the MD saying the company was being put into liquidation on January 16.

"We were shocked. We'd had a busy December and January, our turnover was good, but they told us to cease trading and shut up shop immediately and tell people who booked holidays with us to contact their tour operators.

"But we had a quick chat and we decided we couldn't do that. We love our jobs and we love our clients and we couldn't just walk away. We had a meeting and decided we would all invest.

"We're part of an independent travel agents' consortium and they helped us with bonds and things like that and now we've set up as Village Travel.

"There's three girls here and we've never had experience of running a business but Dave [Smith] is the manager and he has so he's leading us and he's so excited that we're up for doing this."

Ms Watson said their new-found independence gives them the ability to work with any tour operator and give completely impartial advice meaning it has actually improved the business.

To celebrate, Village Travel is holding an open day on Saturday, March 16, from 10am to 4pm. Staff will be on hand to give advice while people enjoy food and drinks.