Gravesend is saying farewell to one of its oldest and much-loved stores today as BHS finally closes its doors.

As of 4pm today, residents of the town will no longer be able to pop down to their New Road branch to purchase an emergency outfit, home furnishings or a birthday gift on their way out to a last-minute party.

It leaves just a handful of BHS stores open in Kent. One of the last to close will be Hempstead Valley, on August 20, where a former worker has recalled how she once stood up to Sir Philip Green when he visited the branch and told her, "I own you".

The Gravesend store which once homed everything now has clothing rails few and far between.

There isn't much left to sell today, but what is remaining of the stock is being sold alongside storage units, display stands and even duct tape.

The luminous posters displaying up to 70% off goods have been bringing in keen bargain-hunters from around the town and further afield to get a final deal.

Every day staff have been updating a giant paper count down in the window, deducting one more day from the end each time, but this morning there was nothing left to say other than goodbye.

The department store which once boasted branding, mannequins and fashion displays resembles more of a warehouse.

Instead of colourful displays advertising the latest holiday essentials, closing down signs entice in the spenders, the curious and the sad.

The front of the store is a jumble sale. Clothes clinging onto their hangers as dresses and T-shirts have been rifled through. Shoes, posters and discarded tags lay on the wooden floorboards while holes in the wall tell the tale of what used to be.

The back of the shop is a ghost town. Empty boxes, stands and fittings all up for grabs while the odd bed frame or picnic hamper is still on sale.

Around the till there are no gift-cards to buy, no sweets or nibbles, only the cash register and unwanted hangers bunched together.

Staff walk around the make-shift boot sale smiling and reminiscing on their memories of the store which has lived in Gravesend for more than 50 years.

Passers-by now turn their thoughts to what will succeed BHS, many hoping for another department store- others dreading the site of another discount shop or supermarket, especially with B&M opening up next door.

Vivien Stanford, 65, retired of St Dunstan’s Drive, in Gravesend said: “We need a TK Maxx, more things for the kids really. It’s a place, like M&S and BHS that has, or should I say had, something for everybody. You can walk in and pick something up if you’re stuck for a Christmas gift, or if you’re looking for an outfit. That would be fantastic. There’s nothing left here for us to buy- especially for the older generation.”

Margaret Mersh, 82, retired of Queen Road, in Gravesend said: “No nail bars, no phone shops, no barbers, no pound shops! We’ve got enough nail bars and barber shops to paint the nails and cut the hair of the whole nation. We need a nice shop where the older lady can buy clothes, just look at the age of the population of Gravesend. There’s nothing here for us.”

What do you want to see inhabit the building on New Road? Let us know your thoughts by emailing us at gravesendmessenger@thekmgroup.co.uk.