Administrators of the collapsed video games retailer Game have announced six Kent stores will close.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers said 277 shops in the UK and Ireland will shut.

Among them are Game stores in Ashford, Bluewater, Canterbury, Chatham, Maidstone and Ramsgate.

An announcement on the firm's website today said discussions with lenders and others had broken down.

It said: "This decision is taken after careful consideration and ceaseless interrogation of every possible alternative.

"The Board would like to thank the teams of GAME and Gamestation colleagues around the world for their exemplary dedication, passion and professionalism."

The Game store in Ashford's County Square Shopping Centre closed with immediate effect earlier this afternoon.

The closure resulted in the loss of 14 jobs. Gamestation, which is part of the same group, remains open in Ashford High Street.

The company, which has more than 600 shops, has suffered poor trading in recent months.

There are said to be 6,000 Game employees in the UK.

Pricewaterhouse Coopers said it is still hopeful the group can be sold.

The firm's lenders are reportedly working on plans to buy a slimmed-down version of the retailer out of administration.