Shoppers have told of their dismay at the prospect of losing their nearest Wilko store.

Yesterday, bosses at the retailer announced they were filing notice to appoint administrators, putting all Kent stores at risk of closure.

This has left shoppers in Ashford fearful it could become a ghost town if Wilko shuts its doors in Park Mall.

Claire Murray and Emma Sorrell say there is not much to come to the high street for, and footfall seems low compared to other towns in the county.

“There is no one here,” Claire Murray said.

“This is the first time I have come to Wilko in the past six years. I rarely come to town unless it is for a sunbed or a bit of fruit and veg but the town centre is dead, it is a ghost town.

“Maidstone and Canterbury are heaving – Ashford is not. There needs to be more put into the town.

“There are no clothes stores – it is all barbers, bookies and charity shops. The rest of the town being dead has a knock-on effect to stores like Wilko.”

Emma Sorrell added: “I think rents are possibly too high which is why we are losing a lot of the shops. We can see two other empty units in Park Mall.

“If Ashford Borough Council (ABC) were to lower the costs of rent, I think a lot more shops would open and it would be more of a bustling town.

“It would be a shame to lose Wilko because they are a good store and do good prices and sell everything pretty much you need. But, it is a big store so I imagine the costs are astronomical.”

Wendy Packman says she was very upset when she heard Wilko was at risk of closure, adding it is a one of a kind.

“I feel very sad because it is the only shop in Ashford that actually fulfills that sort of service,” she said.

“The only thing that other places have is hygiene products because there is Superdrug and Boots, but for things like homeware pieces like cups and saucers and gardenware, there is nowhere else

“People will still go to the centre because there is County Square – but it will definitely put people off coming to this side of Ashford if it closes because there will be no shopping outlet to go to.”

Sue Smith and Rosemary Braid were visiting the town from Folkestone and said if Wilko shuts, residents can “kiss goodbye” to the Park Mall part of town.

“We use Wilko a lot, it sells lots of useful bits. I am very upset about it,” Mrs Smith said.

“But if it goes, you can kiss goodbye to this shopping centre.”

Mrs Braid added: “It makes you wonder where you could go to get similar products. Dunelm is good but they do not sell the hardware products.”

The Folkestone residents agreed if their town’s Wilko shut, it would be the final nail in the coffin.

“It is the only big store which pulls people to Folkestone. We have already lost Debenham,” Mrs Smith says.

“If we lose it, it will be the final nail in the coffin.

“All we have is hairdressers, betting shops, cafes and charity shops.”

The pair added if the store in Folkestone were to shut and the Ashford one stayed open, they would probably not make the trip specifically to visit Wilko.

Sally and Terry Cridland said they thought Wilko’s lifeline in Ashford was running out a few months ago.

“Two or three months ago we thought it would only be a matter of time before it closes,” Mrs Cridland said.

“If many more shops shut in Ashford, we will not have anything left. It is such a shame.

“We come to Wilko all the time but feel it is in the wrong location in Ashford. The trouble with the car parks being closed did not help.”

Mr Cridland added it is very likely Park Mall will be turned into flats as the council have already outlined this possibility.

In 2020, council bosses unveiled Ashford town centre "reset" which outlined "suggested plans" that ABC-owned Park Mall will "one day become a new residential community within the heart of the town".

Vince Monticelli runs The Record Store in Park Mall. He says it is disappointing news about Wilko and feels it will affect the number of casual passersby visiting his shop.

“It is disappointing with the rest of the centre struggling,” he said.

“I do not think there is enough down here to bring people in. We are lucky because if people want to buy a record, they will find a shop and we have loyal customers.

“Wilko closing will not stop them coming here, but casual passersby might not come in or know we are here – I still have people coming in saying they did not know we were here.”

He added that there needs to be more promotion to get shoppers down to Park Mall.

“I think we are an attraction and luckily we have been alright but there needs to be more signs directing people down here,” he said.

“The council could also make Park Mall car park free to encourage shoppers to this part of town.”

An ABC spokesperson said: “The future redevelopment of Park Mall remains part of our longer-term plans for the town centre redevelopment, but there are no details or timescales we can provide at the present, and it will remain a shopping and retail destination for the near future.”

They added, Park Mall car park is free after 3pm and the town centre is promoted on the Love Ashford website, social media and in the newsletter.