Basildon's large Wilko store will close its doors to shoppers for a final time this week as the retailer is set to shut its first shops this week after falling into administration.

The 90-year-old high street chain will close 52 branches across Tuesday and Thursday after failing to secure a deal to rescue the stores.

Administrators from PwC said last week the closures will lead to 1,016 redundancies.

When is the Basildon store closing and why?

The Basildon store, at Westgate Park, will shut on Thursday, September 14, leaving loyal shoppers in the town gutted.

The closure comes as the insolvency experts continue to seek a deal to save as many shops and jobs as possible.

They were dealt a blow on Monday after HMV owner Doug Putman confirmed he has failed in a bid to strike a deal to buy around 200 stores.

It means thousands of jobs across Wilko’s remaining shops, warehouses and head office remain in the balance.

The GMB union has also said today all of Wilko’s 400 stores are set to close by early October - meaning redundancies now look likely for all 12,500 staff at the high-street chain.

The GMB union, which represents more than 3,000 Wilko staff, revealed the damning update after a meeting with the retailer’s administrators on Monday morning.

The union said that Wilko’s warehouses in Worksop and Newport are now both due to close on Friday September 15.

It added that a further 124 stores are due to close next week, with these set to shut between September 19 and September 21.