A MUCH-LOVED shopkeeper family have said their final farewells to the community of Stonesfield, as they begin new adventures in the capital.

More than 50 villagers gathered at St James' Centre to say goodbye to Sri Vairamuthu, owner of their local store Amlu's.

Mr Vairamuthu came to Europe as a child asylum seeker from the Sri Lankan Tamil community, before building up the shop, which he ran for more than 10 years.

Amlu, which means 'darling' in Tamil, was voted best Oxfordshire village shop in 2006.

Stonesfield resident Peter Clifton, who attended the celebrations, said: "A bouquet was presented on behalf of the village to his wife Rahini, and their two daughters.

"Thuriga, the eldest, read Sri’s speech to save him the emotional stress of saying a very affectionate farewell."

Mr Vairamuthu said at the party he got a real lift every time a customer came into his shop.

He joked: "You're probably thinking that my face is lighting up because I'm making more money every time a customer walks into the store."

But he paid tribute to the villagers for "knowing exactly what I want to hear, when I want to hear it the most".

He also thanked the friends who had helped him to write to Prime Minister David Cameron on behalf of the Tamil community in 2013. This led to Mr Cameron's statement at the Commonwealth Conference about investigating the alleged genocide of Tamils in 2009.

A letter from the headteacher, staff and pupils of Stonesfield School was also read out at the event. It paid tribute to the "work ethic and happy disposition" of Thuriga and her sister Annie, and said how much the whole family will be missed in the village.

It read: "We would like to send them our heartfelt thanks and our very best wishes for the future."

Mr Vairamuthu has since moved to London with his family to start a new job.

Mathon Sabapathy and his wife Rekha have taken over the Stonesfield store.