A question mark hangs over the future of Kent's Marks & Spencer shops after the chain confirmed it would be closing 100 stores over the next four years.

The firm, which has struggled in recent years aside from its food offering, wants to trim its estate.

It confirmed details of an initial batch of closures by the end of next year, none of which are in the county.

M&S said it will now close over 100 stores in total by 2022, including 21 that have already closed and the 14 new sites revealed today.

It says it will "radically reshape" its clothing and homeware offering.

Retail, operations and property director Sacha Berendji said: “We are making good progress with our plans to reshape our store estate to be more relevant to our customers and support our online growth plans.

"Closing stores isn’t easy but it is vital for the future of M&S.

"Where we have closed stores, we are seeing an encouraging number of customers moving to nearby stores and enjoying shopping with us in a better environment, which is why we’re continuing to transform our estate with pace.”

M&S currently has a host of stores across Kent including outlets in Canterbury, Westwood Cross, Ashford, Whitstable, Sittingbourne, Hempstead Valley and Maidstone.

It is part of a wider five-year "transformation plan" which will create "fewer but better" clothing and homeware stores and boost its online offering.

The company's chairman is Archie Norman - formerly MP for Tunbridge Wells.