AN award winning businessman and former Scout leader is to retire and sell his fish and chip shop due to ill health.

John Moore, who runs the Barnard Castle chippie Fryer Tucks, in Horse Market, said he is devastated but had no choice to make the decision after suffering new complications from a brain injury that nearly killed him in 2003.

The 51-year-old was left blind in one eye and deaf in one ear after he hit his head on a diving board while swimming and underwent several brain operations to save his life.

He later took over the business which was set up by his parents, Jean and the late Roger, 35 years ago.

Mrs Moore, 71, still works there.

But after more than ten years in charge of the shop, overall winner of the Teesdale business awards last year, Mr Moore is calling it a day after another health scare last September.

The father-of-one spent nearly a month in hospital after a shunt which was inserted into his brain after the original accident, became blocked.

He said: “They tried to replace it but that did not work, they tried something else which caused a bleed on the brain so I was in the best part of a month.

“It was quite scary as I had a pipe fastened into my head but I was lucky I was still alive.”

Mr Moore, who has been heavily involved with the Teesdale Scouts for more than 35 years, added: “My vision is shot to hell and my memory is unbelievable.”

Mr Moore said although he is sad to sell the business, he now hopes to concentrate on his wife, Rachel and their four-year-old son, Matthew.

“I just want to draw a line – my days have long gone. It’s massively sad because it’s a fantastic business and I loved working there.

“It’s a crying shame – we have built the shop up and have been frying chips for donkey’s years.”