WHEN Alan Harris was four years old his father opened a hardware store in Brighton Road, Coulsdon.

"He had started out sharpening shears, which was part of the new shop to begin with," said Mr Harris. "Our family lived above the store, which was opposite the library."

When he was 14 he started working at the store on Saturdays. And when he was 26 he and his wife Lynn took the reins from his father.

"It was different back then," said Mr Harris, who runs Coulsdon Home Hardware, now in Chipstead Valley Road, to this day.

"Most of the families only had one car so they shopped locally. Now everyone is more mobile."

Despite the outside changes, Mr Harris's town centre business is thriving, one of a dwindling number that measure their lifespan in generations and are part of their towns' heritage.

Asked for the secrets of their longevity at a time of high street decline, those business owners put personal service, expertise and a readiness to adapt top of their lists.

"We continually try to redevelop what we offer," said Mr Harris, who, nonetheless, sticks to one ethos: "To help the average family keep their home running smoothly."

Recently branching out into bathrooms, his store is also a member of the national Home Hardware group, in which independent hardware stores pool their buying power.

Up the hill in Old Coulsdon, Tudor Bakery has been making cakes and bread on site since the 1930s, staying put even as the town's grocers and butchers have long disappeared.

"There is less to draw people to shop in the area," said William Lucas, the store's third owner, who spends much of his time baking at the store. "We cannot always compete on price," he added.

"But we offer something the supermarkets cannot; we compete on service. You come here and are treated well; you will come back."

Over in Selsdon, Peter Skinner gave up working at Sainsbury's to run the 27-year-old independent Selsdon Pet Centre in Addington Road, which specialises in premium pet food.

"I went from dealing with high-volume stuff to building customer relationships," he said.

"Probably if you search long enough on the internet, you could find our stock cheaper.

But we also sell ourselves – our service.

"We have always done things a little differently, but people appreciate that.

"The support from regular customers has really kept us going."

In Sanderstead, Margaret Paul sells footballs, cricket bats and more at the Limpsfield Road sports store that opened in 1929 and still bears the name of its founder, Dick Townley.

"It is hard for us to compete on price with the big stores," she said.

"But it is all about the personal touch. Getting advice, putting a grip on a bracket. We sometimes spend 40 minutes or more discussing cricket with our customers. And if we cannot help, we try to find someone who can."

Despite the uncertain future of high streets, these survivors hope to be around for a long time yet.

Mr Harris, who has three adult sons, said: "I am now 61. I can see the business going further with the next generation.

"It will continue to develop and change according to the community's needs."