An era is ending in Frensham as a family is pulling down the shutters on its waterside café after five decades of trade.

Samantha Jones and her father have served hundreds of thousands of visitors since Frensham Snack Bar opened at the side of the Great Pond in the mid 1980s.

But this summer will be the last for Samantha and her team with illness, increasing costs and the stress of dealing with “hordes” of often-abusive day-trippers taking its toll.

“It’s been in my family for over 40 years and we’re definitely part of the furniture here,” said leaseholder Samantha.

“But we’ve decided we’re closing in September because of several different things. We’ve been doing it a long time.”

The return of blue-green algae and dealing with troublesome visitors were big factors, with out-of-towners treating the beauty spot in the Surrey Hills like a festival site.

Samantha said: “When you get the hordes in the summer there is a lot of abuse.

“No-one stops them from drinking or taking drugs on the beach and it becomes a festival but without the security.

“And with the algae coming back, I think that’s done it. It’s been so hot and this is normally a place where you would come to swim and cool off, but you can’t right now.

“So we also don’t get the dog walkers, either. It’s tough juggling it all.”

Despite the struggles the team will miss their “lovely regulars” with the café staff on first name terms with many people from Frensham and further afield.

She added: “We do have a lot of lovely customers and regulars and most of them are local, but we do have some that come from further afield.

“It’s the end of an era for us but it’s the right time to move on.”