I'm so old that I can remember when Blockbuster video rental shops were a new thing.

Friday and Saturday nights during the 90s wouldn't be complete without a trip there as well as the off-licence.

They would be packed out with teens at the horror section, families by the cartoons and couples mooching around the rom com selection.

It even had its own popcorn dispensers so you could fill a small bucket and go home to experience the full-on, full-up with sugary guff sensation of the movies at a fraction of the cost.

The DVD and video rental company used to have more than 500 stores across the UK and employed more than 4,000 people in the UK, but went into administration in 2013.

Video never managed to kill off the radio star, but the streaming services offered by Netflix and Amazon managed to do for Blockbuster.

We now stream films and entire TV series regularly on our TVs, but I still like to get DVDs, from charity shops, or stores or from the library.

The problemwith streaming is that the selection is so narrow and usually only has mainstream and modern films on offer.

You might have to sit through some awful adverts and the piracy warning before you get to the actual movie, but at leasty with DVDs you don't have to worry about buffering.

But then, I still buy actual books (I recommend The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, especially in the wake of what has happened in Virginia) and I prefer to

The Lovefilm By Post DVD rental service will cease to operate on 31 October this year, its owner Amazon has said.

Amazon cited a "decreasing demand" for the discs and a growing number of customers who were streaming movies and TV series instead.

The move has irritated some fans, who argue that a wider range of films is available to rent on DVD and Blu-ray.

Lovefilm was founded in 2002 and acquired by Amazon in 2011, when it had more than 1.4 million subscribers.

For a monthly subscription fee, Lovefilm customers could receive a DVD or Blu-ray disc of their choice via post that they would send back once watched.

From 2010, some content could also be accessed via online streaming instead.

Disgruntled

"We have very much enjoyed delivering the Lovefilm By Post service to our customers," said Amazon in a statement.

"However, over the last few years we've seen a decreasing demand for DVD and Blu-ray rental as customers increasingly move to streaming.

"We are committed to finding alternative roles for all Lovefilm employees within Amazon."

Some fans of Lovefilm were left disgruntled by the decision.

"It's not great to be honest," customer Michael Harrison told the BBC.

He argued that there was a wider selection of films available to rent in physical form than with streaming services.

"You don't have to buffer it, or worry about pixilation," he added.

"I live in a small town and we don't have many shops around - it was great for me to get films posted to me."

Another customer wrote on Twitter: "Well Amazon stopping its Lovefilm service is comfortably the worst news I've had this year.

"So many films not available to stream."