A number of shop jobs in Kent and Medway have been saved with the sale of six local branches of soft furnishing retailer Rosebys.

But jobs have also been lost with the failure to find a buyer for five others.

KPMG, the joint administrators of the Rosebys group, have sold 77 outlets nationwide to Duvetco, a subsidiary of Edinburgh Woollen Mill, the retail chain.

They include Ashford, Sheerness, Sittingbourne, Gravesend, Folkestone, and Orpington. Altogether, 495 jobs have been saved nationwide.

Concessions of Rosebys in Homestyle, Folkestone, and Carpetright, Tonbridge, will also stay open.

However, the branches in Dartford, Tunbridge Wells, Cliftonville, Bexleyheath and Welling (known as Knightingales) are among 59 outlets that have closed with the loss nationally of 310 staff.

Outlets in Hempstead Valley shopping centre, Gillingham, Dover, Maidstone and Margate were closed some weeks ago with the loss of 16 jobs.

Joint administrator Howard Smith said: "Clearly it is unfortunate that further redundancies have been unavoidable.

"But in difficult trading conditions, the sale of a number of stores has been secured, which will safeguard many jobs and help achieve a return for creditors."

KPMG has set up a Rosebys employee hotline - 0845 094 1777 - to provide information and support to employees who have been made redundant.

Rosebys, which sells soft furnishings, curtains and bed linen, went into administration in September amid what it described as "difficult trading conditions".