Woolworths at Ashford finally shut its doors to customers on New Year’s Eve - three days before the expected closure.

The High Street store closed early as the store was virtually stripped bare of goods as bargain hunters poured in over the Christmas period.

Customers on that Wednesday were told it was the store’s final trading day via a tannoy announcement. The day before it had been announced closure was had been put back from January 2 to January 3.

Today the store was virtually an empty shell with the windows and doors plastered with signs advertising the sale of fixtures.

Umbrella stands were going for £20, trolleys for £30, step ladders for £40 and filing cabinets for £25.

The shutdown at Ashford followed the closure of the Tenterden store on Saturday, December 27.

It meant the local branches just missed the 100th anniversary year of the company’s birth, with the first store in Liverpool in 1909.

The chain had gone into administration in November and the last 200 stores in the country are due to close next Tuesday, January 6.