A PIECE of shopping history will come to an end in Basingstoke this week as staff at C&A close the doors on the town shop for good.

The 30 staff members will be coming in for the very last time on Wednesday wearing "end of an era" T-shirts before they shut up shop at noon.

Store supervisor Maureen Taylor, who has been working for C&A for the last 15 years, said customers would miss the shop which opened in March 1981, but added that their employers had been supportive in this difficult time.

She said: "The support has been there all the way through really.

"They have doubled the statutory redundancy pay and people, like myself, have had a retention bonus.

"The emotional support among the staff has been brilliant.

"We have had to cope with new experiences, changes and ideas and it's been working very well."

Owners of the chain took the decision to close the 108 UK stores last year after a loss of £250 million over 10 years.