A Stowmarket couple who have provided balloons for events ranging from gender reveals to 100th birthdays will be closing their shop after 11 years of trading.

Cloud 9 Balloons and Party Accessories will be closing its doors on Saturday, September 24.

Joint owner Jo Moyes said: "My husband Chris and I have helped families to mark every kind of occasion and have even seen babies in the pram right into their high school years."

The pair opened the store in 2011 after operating from home for four years.

Cloud 9 quickly went from a relatively small operation at home to a firm favourite within Stowmarket.

"My favourite part has always been building a relationship with my customers. I'm definitely going to miss the chats as they're the nicest part of the job," Jo said.

She added: "I've loved embarking on this joint venture between my husband and I. He's been there every step of the way, working hard in the background."

Jo said the closure was partly due to her arthritis, which is making it difficult for her to tie the balloons.

She said: "We will, however, be carrying on the tradition through Chris' son, who has just opened up a party supply store online called Party Jax."

Chris and Jo say they were "completely overwhelmed" by the number of messages they received on Facebook when they announced the store's closure.

"I thought we'd quietly drift away, but the response has been truly humbling. They're such lovely customers and the whole thing has made me rather emotional," said Jo.

The pair say they have worked six days a week for the past 11 years and are looking forward to taking a well-earned break in the next few months.

Jo added: "It's the right choice, but as the time's getting closer it's getting very sad. It's the end of an era for us, so I'd just like to say thank you to all our customers – we couldn't have done it without them."