Customers of an Oakham cafe have reacted with sadness after it announced it was closing.

The operators of the Castle Cottage Cafe in Church Passage posted on Facebook that this stemmed from the end of their lease on the popular venue.

"It is with huge sadness and the heaviest heart that our Castle Cottage dream has come to an end."

The message continued: "I would like to thank all our wonderful, loyal customers for the huge support you have given us. This is not the end for Leigh and I and rest assured we will be seeing you all again very soon (hopefully!!!).

"We will be keeping you all posted about the future and of course would welcome any thoughts/ideas about a future venue. In the meantime don't forget about us, but for now it's hasta luego!!! Much love x x "

The owners declined to comment further to Nub News.

The couple have since received more than 100 comments to their post on Facebook.

Among them, Emma Turner said: "Sad news. Have had lovely coffee & cake in the pretty garden several times. A very special place."

Vanessa Smith said: "OMG, such sad news, hope you find another location soon "

Jenny Goddard said: "Such sad news, it was a wonderful place to eat and drink."

On TripAdvisor, the business received 4.5 stars, rating it second out of 19 cafes in Oakham, and 7th out of 50 restaurants. Some 74 per cent of those who posted reviews, gave it 5 stars.