Nick Smith MP has celebrated the shops and firms that are the lifeblood of Blaenau Gwent ahead of Small Business Saturday.

Nick visited the Ironing Centre in Brynmawr as the Labour-led campaign enters its third year.

In the run up to Christmas shoppers are being encouraged to ‘shop small’ on December 5 and celebrate the contribution of entrepreneurs and small firms this weekend.

Small Business Saturday brought a boost to local high streets across the country. In 2014, 16.5 million Britons visited a local independent store -; 2.7m more than on Small Business Saturday in 2013.

The Blaenau Gwent MP is backing local businesses to take advantage of the campaign on a key shopping day in the year in the run-up to Christmas.

Sonia Roach, whose Ironing Centre has now been open for a decade, said: “You have to support local businesses otherwise they will all just fade away.

“We’re lucky in Brynmawr because there’s a real community spirit coming through and people are starting to think locally, but we don’t want to end up with a community with just the big stores running things.”

Speaking on the eve of the event, Nick said: “I am looking forward to backing our local small shops and independent businesses on Small Business Saturday. We should do all we can to thank them for the vital contribution they make to the local economy, adding to the local community and boosting diversity on the High Street.

“It will be fantastic to build on the success we achieved with Small Business Saturday in the last two years locally, which is why I’m getting fully behind the campaign again and giving my support to local businesses.

“There are lots of great businesses in Blaenau Gwent and the campaign is a great way of raising awareness and helping boost trade.”

For more on Small Business Saturday see https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/