With glistening DVD and video boxes lining its shelves, the floors invariably carpeted in dark blue, and crinkled bags of popcorn next to its tills, Blockbuster Video was a town centre staple.

The musty stores would be filled with tired-looking parents with unruly children, besotted couples and slouching recluses, all browsing its collections for the evening’s entertainment.

Rather than being guided by the ratings provided by IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes, film buffs based their choices on the glossiness of the covers or the rose-tinted synopses on the backs of boxes. Each visit was therefore akin to treading a cinematic tightrope: would you leave with a crowd-pleasing hit, a little-known gem or be lulled into renting a teeth-grating dud?

As the deadline approached to take the films back, gaggles of people wearing a mish-mash of hastily thrown-on clothing would race to their nearest branch to bung the boxes through the shop’s returns hatch.

Of course, today the lengths we once went to for our movie-watching fix now feel like a far-flung memory as streaming services have moved the latest releases to within a couple of taps of a keyboard.

The emergence of these websites signalled the chain’s demise, culminating in it twice going into administration in 2013 and closing the last of its Kent branches in the same year.

But memories of the video-rental experience are made to feel all-the-more distant by the fact that reminders of the yellow-and-blue fronted shops have been scrubbed from the high street.

Sexual health clinics, raided drug dens, hotels and convenience stores now stand in their place. Here is what 14 of the county’s branches of the once-popular chain look like now…

New Dover Road, Canterbury

Blockbuster occupied a prominent spot on the corner of New Dover Road and Lower Chantry Lane since the 1990s.

However, the sizeable store announced in 2012 that it would be closing after 22 years in the city.

Its ramshackle exterior proved to be a shabby reminder of its former self, with paint peeling from its walls and weeds sprouting from crevasses between the shop and the pavement.

The building was demolished to make way for a 120-room Premier Inn shortly afterwards.

Branches of Tesco Express and estate agent Miles and Barr later joined the hotel on the site.

King Street, Ramsgate

The shop was one of a number of victims of the high street crisis in January 2013.

It was snapped up by Morrisons, along with 49 other former Blockbusters, in order to be converted into one of the supermarket chain’s M Local convenience stores.

Despite opening in October 2013, the shop later closed and appeared to remain vacant until police raided the property two years ago.

Officers seized about 1,000 cannabis plants after discovering a large factory was being run inside the empty-looking premises.

The site was made available to rent last summer for £30,000-a-year.

Northdown Road, Margate

The Cliftonville store shut for good following a cull of 62 Blockbuster branches across the country towards the end of 2013.

The move was widely expected after administrators announced the previous week that they had not received any acceptable offers for the remaining premises.

European food shop Nasza Biedronka took on the site about five years ago, before expanding into the former Dreamland Beds next door.

High Street, Ashford

Just six months after the town centre haven for cineastes was closed down, it was converted into a discounted goods store.

Businessman Iqbal Ahmed took on the site in order to open his second Multisave branch in July 2013.

But he shut up shop the following summer and the 5,990 sq ft premises remained empty for the following two years.

Its closure, along with that of the Pizza Hut opposite, sparked fears the High Street had an overabundance of empty stores.

It was later converted into a Debra charity shop selling electrical goods and furniture, after its lease was advertised for £60,000 per year.

Sandgate Road, Folkestone

It was at the centre of controversy 18 years ago when a mother urged the video store to remove sexually explicit titles from its lower shelves for fear of corrupting young customers.

Jeanet Price was horrified when she visited the seaside video shop and saw pornographic material at the eye level of her young son.

The Folkestone mum wrote to the chain after her visit, prompting an apology from bosses.

The company also said at the time that it was working with suppliers to tone down some of the sleeves.

Eleven years later, eight employees lost their jobs after the branch closed down during a nationwide cull that saw 91 shut for good.

The large property has since been turned into furniture retailer Folkestone Bedz, which continues to operate from the site.

High Street, Dover

After closing towards the end of 2013, the Charlton Centre site was swiftly converted into Pet Passions.

That then closed down about four years later, after its owners applied to Companies House for it to be struck off the register.

The rundown premises, located next to Sleepyhead-Beds, remain empty.

The Forum shopping centre, Sittingbourne

Having sat empty for about three years, the prominent site was transformed into a Costa Coffee in 2016.

The multi-national firm unveiled plans to move into the premises in The Forum shopping centre in November 2015, sparking fears it could squeeze out independent traders.

Swale Borough Council leader Cllr Roger Truelove said at the time: “I suppose it will be welcomed by some but I am concerned for the several small businesses in the same market which have been started by local people in premises that don’t have to look like any place, any town.”

This came five months after developers launched a bid to open a Burger King restaurant at the empty property.

They later withdrew their application with the local authority, paving the way for Costa to open. The café is still trading in the centre of town.

Clover Street, Chatham

Three years after closing in 2013, the former Blockbuster reopened as an NHS sexual health clinic.

But prior to this, then Chatham Central councillor Julie Shaw voiced concerns that the site would become known as “the Chatham clap centre”.

“For some people that is quite embarrassing," she added during a committee meeting in 2015.

“To have one centre in the middle of Clover Street, in Chatham, is not going to do any good for the people who want to use the facilities there or indeed for the neighbourhood.”

Despite this, the plans were given the green light by the local authority.

The clinic offers a range of sexual health services, including contraception, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, and care for those people living with HIV.

West Street, Gravesend

Local firm Kuflink relocated to the former Blockbuster in 2016, after the property sat vacant for three years.

The bridging and peer-to-peer lenders moved to the building from its previous base at the Lion Business Park in Dering Way.

This came after firm PJG Developments was given the go-ahead by Gravesham Borough Council to transform the plot into a children's nursery, soft play area, laser-tag facility and café.

Week Street, Maidstone

The video-rental store was shut in the same week branches in Chatham, Gravesend, Sittingourne and Tonbridge ceased trading.

In all, 42 jobs were lost as a result of the closures.

Charity shop Sue Ryder, which raises funds for hospice and neurological care, is now trading in the old Blockbuster.

The Pavilion, Tonbridge

Three years ago, Sussex Beds opened its ninth branch in the 3,500 sq ft space left empty by the video-rental chain.

Ten jobs were lost when the Tonbridge Blockbuster locked its doors in December 2013, as part of the chain's final wave of closures.

Rainham Shopping Centre, Rainham

The site off Longley Road is now home to a LloydsPharmacy.

The national chain of chemists runs another Rainham store in Station Road, which is a short walk from the former Blockbuster.

Calverly Road, Tunbridge Wells

The town centre store is now home to contemporary furniture seller Lime Modern Living.

The glass-fronted retailer is sandwiched between an Iceland and newspaper offices.

St Johns Hill, Sevenoaks

Independent baby and nursery retailer Little Poppets & Co can be found inside the former film and video game store.

The family-run business opened in 2014, after its owners relocated from Llandudno, Wales, to Kent.

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