Installed outside a pub in Clifton, Derbyshire, the machine enables residents to buy groceries for the first time since the village shop closed over 13 years ago.
The brainchild of local electrical engineer Peter Fox, more vending machines are to be introduced to other villages in the surrounding area over the next few months. They are designed take cash or cards and even send out emails to stockists when goods start to run low.
Fox said he had the idea years ago but couldn’t find a manufacturer, so ended up building it himself. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, he said he preferred the term ‘automatic shop’ to ‘vending machine’
“The problem with vending machines is that they can’t handle the range, weight or the delicacy of a wide range of products such as milk, eggs, bread, washing powder and so on. Our shop can handle all of these and many more besides.”
Source: Metro/AOL Travel/Daily Telegraph
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