A Belfast chip shop owner says she's feeling heartbroken after taking the difficult decision to close her business later this month due to rising costs.
As the global energy crisis deepens, Linda Harvey, who runs The Dolphin chippy on the Shankill Road, has seen her energy bills skyrocket as tariffs continue to rise.
The business, which Linda opened only four years ago, will close its doors on September 24.
Read more: Belfast chippy owner 'terrified' as energy bills hit £4,000 a month
"It's come to the point that I have to close the business. I don't have any other option," Linda told Belfast Live.
"It has been a difficult few years. The first year in business was great but after that we had Covid and now this cost of living crisis is something I just can't overcome. I just don't have enough money to pay the bills."
She added: "The price of everything is just going up all the time. The cost of fish has more than doubled as has the oil for the chip pans and the price of chicken fillets. Oil used to be £21 a block but now that's £48 while fish was £59 a stone and you're now talking over £100.
"It's ridiculous and even though I had to switch to another fish supplier because they were a bit cheaper, now it's £230 for two stone which is big, big money."
Linda says that with energy prices set to go up again in the coming months, things are only going to get worse.
"My electricity bill last month was nearly £1,700 and the gas £1,500 and that's on top of rates and all the other bills. Before that the electricity was normally around £1,000 a month while gas was usually £900.
"There's not enough money coming in to cover that. I've worked the past six weeks and earned nothing out of it so my big worry is what the next bills would be like because I struggled to get the money to pay the last ones."
Linda says that when she contacted her electricity supplier about the latest rise in her bill, she was told to charge her customers more.
"We're based on the Shankill Road and you can't charge people £10 or £12 for a fish supper because they don't have that kind of money. They would tell you where to go too! I have added 50p to the price of fish and 30p more for chips but that still isn't enough."
As a result of the ongoing cost of living crisis, Linda, 56, who runs The Dolphin with her daughter Michelle, 30, has now decided her business is no longer sustainable.
"I'm very sad to have got to this point but there's nothing I can do. It's out of my control and it really is the end of the road. I've put off and put off closing because I kept hoping the government would step in and do something or things would change but that hasn't happened," she explained.
"I feel terrible about it and like I've been robbed. It's the first time I've had a business of my own after working all my life so it feels like it's being taken away from me.
"There has been so much stress and strain so I'm giving it all up. I'm getting out to get another job where I'll be guaranteed a wage at the end of the week.
"I have already told a few customers that we're closing up soon and they do understand but they're also very sad as well. They say it's a disgrace and they're right but it's because we're not getting any help at all."
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