A COMPUTER-based service which has allowed Barnsley's independent traders to link up and effectively create an online supermarket has proved so successful it is being repeated in Penistone.

The Shopappy scheme is open only to independent traders who have shops or market stalls and is seen as an answer for time-starved customers who would like to use their shops but end up in supermarkets or online out of convenience.

All the shops involved provide the option for customers to buy, but the Shopappy system means everything goes into the same basket.

Customers then arrange one pick-up point, providing the flexibility they need while allowing them to buy the more unusual products independent traders supply.

It is financed through shopkeepers paying a monthly subscription and it is hoped that as the system is launched in Penistone, increasing numbers of traders will recognise the value in being signed up.

The scheme has the support of Penistone Area Council, which works to improve the area, with some shopkeepers also promoting it.

Karen Tyas, who runs Cafe Creme in Penistone High Street, is among those involved and said: "People might want to buy a cake from us, something from the butchers and a birthday card. They can put it all in the same basket and collect it all from the same place.

"It is aimed at people who work and cannot get to the shops in Penistone. An advantage is that people will also see independent traders offering things they didn't realise that business did, so it should increase footfall," she said.

The service is due to go live soon, with details on the www.shopappy.co.uk website.