23 May 2012 Last updated at 10:32 ET

Stokes Croft People's Supermarket to close

The People's Supermarket said it could not compete with low food prices offered by big superstore chains

A community supermarket set up to serve the Stokes Croft area of Bristol as an alternative to Tesco is winding up.

The aim was to make organically grown, local, fairly-traded food available to people on a low income in the area.

It began trading after riots in April 2011 when police raided a squat on Cheltenham Road over fears the nearby Tesco would be petrol-bombed.

A statement from the store said it could not compete with chain store prices and needed new leadership.

'Extremely difficult'

The supermarket launched in December 2011 with the running of a stall at a Stokes Croft winter street market with plans to make it a more permanent event.

Earlier this year the group behind the store joined forces with New Dawn Traders, which is setting sail to the Caribbean in a 100-year-old boat.

The plan was to bring back goods for the People's Supermarket to sell at a market stall in Bristol this summer.

But a statement on the People's Supermarket website said it could not compete with chain store prices and needed new leadership.

"Setting up a shop whereby the prices are more realistic, in that they reflect the real value of food that is produced in a sustainable and just way, is extremely difficult," said the group.

"We accept that this particular plan has not worked at this particular time in this particular place."