THREE single mothers face a bleak financial future when the village store where they work shuts down.

Alldays, in Lunsford Lane, Larkfield, near Maidstone, will close its doors on Saturday, September 3, because the Co-operative Group has decided it is not making enough money.

Nine members of staff, including the manager, two other single mothers and a woman with no other source of income, will be left jobless. They have been given four weeks notice.

Customers are upset over the decision and a petition started in the store has around 1,000 signatures already.

Duty manager and single mother Carol Brimsted said: “I am on my own so this is my means of support. There are two other girls – a single mum with two kids and a mortgage and a single mum with three kids and a mortgage.”

Mrs Brimsted claimed a regional manager told her off about the petition and took signs about it out of the window.

Cllr David Thornewell, Larkfield and East Malling Parish Council chairman, said the closure would force a change in lifestyle for many people who did not want to use the large “impersonal” Tesco superstore.

And Ms Brimsted agreed, adding that she enjoyed the community feel of her job. “They said they’d give us ample time for interviews – but they’re giving us just four weeks to get out.”

A spokeswoman for the Co-operative Group said: “The store needs to be converted to our Co-op Welcome convenience format but we cannot justify the cost because of its poor trading performance.”

She added that the company would move staff to other stores where possible.