A trainee teacher decided to "take the plunge" and bought a tea room two days before it was set to close down.

Jonathan Burton, more commonly known as JB, saved the business on Milton Regis High Street, near Sittingbourne from becoming another empty shop.

The 45-year-old, who only lives near the cafe, snapped up the opportunity on the spur of the moment.

“My neighbour next door leased it and always knew I wanted to do something like this," he explained.

“So two days before it was going to shut for good, she asked me if I would take it on.”

JB was at home studying on Tuesday, April 29, when he was given the opportunity and by Thursday, May 1, he was handed the keys.

He added: “It never really felt like it was the right time before now.

“Fortunately, I'm in a position where I can plough a bit of time and money into it. I want to take the plunge and try and make a go of it.”

Over the years, the Grade II listed building was used as a bakery, tattoo studio and most recently a vintage tea room.

Now it has been named JB's Coffee & Tea House and serves a range of drinks, sandwiches and sweet treats.

The dad-of-two and his team plan to eventually branch out and provide an online delivery service as well as potentially adding afternoon tea to the menu.

However, they are taking things slowly as he is working to finish training to become a teacher, although he will no longer be pursuing that career.

JB worked as a Royal Mail postman for the last two decades, but after developing arthritis in his feet, he had to give it up.

Around six years ago, he decided to venture into the education industry and began studying to become a maths teacher.

He said: “At the moment, I'm at school five days a week. I will finish at the end of June – then it's full steam ahead."

JB says one of the reasons why he decided to take on the cafe was to make sure an independent business stays open.

“You just see so many empty shops, even in Sittingbourne High Street,” he commented. “I'm quite a big fan of supporting local.

“We're going to lose it all otherwise. Everything goes out of town or online.

“You've got all these people trying to get jobs and they can't get one locally because everything's shutting down.”

After the addition of a brand new coffee machine and sandwich press, the cafe officially “reopened” on Wednesday, May 14.

So far, it has had a positive response from the community.

JB added: “It has been very popular before and we have regulars that are still coming in.

"I know a lot of people because I live here myself. Once it's properly up and running, I'm confident that we'll do well.”