A toy shop that first opened its doors on the morning of the 1966 World Cup final will celebrate its 50th anniversary this weekend.

Despite huge changes in the High Street, Piccola has remained in Epping for half a century with founding owners and sisters-in-law Janet Marcantonio and Carol Venditti still behind the counter.

On Saturday (July 30), Epping mayor Les Burrows will present them with an award from Epping Town Council for their years of work.

Ms Marcantonio said: “We're so happy to reach this incredible landmark.

“When Piccola first opened television was in black and white, The Beatles were at their height and people paid for things in shillings and pence, so it's genuinely amazing to think that we're still going strong 50 years later.

“It's been a wonderful journey, which has enabled us to be a part of the lives of so many children as they grew up, and it's been even more rewarding to see them return to us as adults to shop for their own sons and daughters.

“Now, we're even seeing customers who first came to Piccola as a child visiting us to buy presents for their grandchildren.”

On Saturday, Epping Forest MP Eleanor Laing will unveil a commemorative plaque at the shop, which sits between W.H. Smith and a Cancer Research UK charity shop.

Peppa Pig and Peter Rabbit will also meet and greet customers throughout the day.

Ms Marcantonio added: “You can only last in business for 50 years if you have loyal and generous customers, and so, above all else, we'd like to thank the wonderful people of Epping for their friendship and kindness over the past half century.

“It's been an honour and a privilege to have been a small part of the history of our great town and its amazing community, and we're so humbled, even now, that the people of Epping still choose to come to us to buy things for their little ones.

“If we have been able to bring happiness to the lives of the children of Epping and their families over the last half century, then the 50 years that Carol and I have spent behind the counter at Piccola will certainly have been time well spent.”