Three Counties Garage in Malvern will remain open despite the collapse of Rover.

The business employs eight people and was the local dealer for the Midlands car firm.

Ron Hatton, managing director of Hills of Ledbury, which owns the Court Road garage, said Rover's closure had come as a complete shock.

"A few people have said we must have known it was coming, but we didn't. If I'd known, I wouldn't have sold my son a Rover two weeks before it folded," he said.

"Everyone thought the deal with China was going to go through."

Mr Hatton said the garage's workshops and body shop would remain open and the firm was looking at dealing in second-hand cars.

The firm is staying in close touch with Rover's administrators, to inform customers about the situation with warranties.

Mr Hatton said there was a large stock of Rover spares available in the UK, so Rover owners should not worry.

A plan to build 14 houses on the garage site was turned down by Malvern Hills District Council last October.

Although officers recommended the application for approval, planning committee members voted unanimously to turn it down. They said the development was inappropriate for the area.

Mr Hatton said an appeal against the decision was under way.

"If we win the appeal we will look at relocating to a site elsewhere in Malvern," he said. "However, these plans were in place long before the Rover crisis, so it really has nothing to do with it."