A family-owned furniture store is shutting up shop after almost 100 years with a massive closing down sale.

Bennett & Brown, in Windmill Street, Gravesend has been selling beds and sofas in the town since 1925 and is going out with a bang as it sells off almost £1million of stock.

The £975,000 closing down sale is offering up to 70% off all goods.

Over the years, Bennett & Brown has prided itself on having the “biggest breadth of ranges and best display of quality beds and furniture in the South East of England”.

But the announcement of the sale was met with sadness by former customers and ex-staff members.

Former employee Lorraine Sheehan said: “It’s very sad that it’s closing. It’s the end of an era.

“I used to work in there during the late 70s.”

She added: “I was in the lighting section of the store, that sold lamps and ceiling fittings. It always looked beautiful.”

Regular customer Marlene Johnson said generations of her family have shopped in the store over the decades.

“I used to get all my furniture from there as did my aunt in the 50s,” she said.

“I remember my mum telling me she was a friend of one of the owners in the 50s.

“I bought my furniture and hoover from there in the 80s, as my family did in the 50s and 60s.”

The sale started Friday (July 19).