A local woman has spoken out after fearing that her favourite independent restaurants will close due to a lack of people visiting the eateries. 

This comes as Berkshire has seen an epidemic of independently owned restaurant closures due to the rising cost of both produce and rental units. 

Sophie Stone, 26, from Thatcham said that she and a friend went shopping on The Broadway High Street and noticed that two of her favourite eateries were empty. 

"Mostly people were eating and drinking in pubs," she said. "When I walked past the Szechuan Inn Chinese restaurant and The Spice which is an Indian restaurant, both that have been favourites since my childhood, they were completely empty. It just broke my heart."

Ms Stone said that she would have visited either one of these restaurants at the time if she could have afforded to eat out that day. She will be visiting Szechuan Inn shortly to celebrate her partner's birthday. 

"It was just a bit gutting to see the favourites not being used and not as busy as you would like them to be," she continued. 

"I guess the worry is that these places will cease to exist if we are not careful."

Ms Stone says that she knows for a fact that these two places are loved by a lot of the locals. She said that the Szechuan Inn is one of the best Chinese restaurants around and that they always offer great customer service. 

She also mentioned that there is one particular server who is very friendly and constantly joking with customers. 

"If they closed and I wouldn't be able to see him again it would be like Thatcham has lost a really good restaurant and you also don't get to see their lovely staff," Ms Stone continued. 

Ms Stone grew up in Thatcham before going to live in Hermitage for a few years. 

She returned to Thatcham four years ago and has lived there ever since. She recalled ordering a meal from The Spice as soon as she came home and was delighted to find out that it hadn't changed. 

"I was so happy, they have been my absolute favourite since I was a child," she said. "I ordered the chicken tikka masala when I first got back and it tasted exactly the same as when I was little.

"I have a lot of memories in both of the restaurants. They are always the places me and my family eat from. I would be distraught if either of them closed."