A Hackbridge station coffee vendor from Croydon says he is at risk of unemployment after running his business there for 14 years.

Moh Malik may be forced to move Moh's Coffee elsewhere, or close it for good, as his tenancy that is set to expire in January next year was not renewed.

The bosses responsible for the tender have awarded it to someone else and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), who manage Hackbridge station, say the winning supplier “gave a very strong pitch and provided the best all-round offer”.

Mr Malik, a dad-of-two, said: “It's not the end of the world but this is what I built from nothing.

“You know when you work on something, something you've really built, and you're thinking, 'This is it. I can live on this'.

“Fourteen years feels like a lifetime. I built this business from nothing, zero. It's not a life and death situation but this is my livelihood.”

He added that there doesn’t appear to be another nearby station available, “they’re all 50 or 60 miles out of the area”, and the rent prices are too high.

Plans for setting up a small new coffee shop have also seem unlikely due to high financial costs.

While Mr Malik would like to continue to serve coffee at Hackbridge station past the tenancy expiry date he is unsure at the moment what he will do next.

A GTR spokesman could not reveal who the new business is but says they are an independent trader that lives locally and has received “very good reviews” from customers.

He added: “We appreciate the current tenant has been at the station for some years now and this was not a straightforward decision, however weighing up the information before us we feel this is the better outcome.

“We’d like to thank the current tenant for his service at the station and we wish him well in the future.”

Mr Malik was required to reapply for the tenancy in order to continue serving coffee from his van at Hackbridge station before it expires on January 22 next year.

He put in his offer but this time a different supplier was accepted “on the basis of improved quality and financial terms”, according to messages seen by the Sutton Guardian.

It adds that no further bids will now be accepted but claims it is an evening street food vendor have been rubbished.

The new licence, which is seeking a "high quality hot drinks retailer" at the front of the station or "evening street food" business, is set for three years until September 2021.

Meanwhile, a Change.org petition has been launched to try and keep Moh’s Coffee at Hackbridge station – gaining more than 350 signatures so far.

One comment said Hackbridge “wouldn’t be the same without him” and another read that he’s a “pillar of the community”.

You can see the petition here.