Shoppers have reacted with sadness to the news that Wilko in Weymouth will be closing.

Weymouth's Wilko is one of 400 shops that will be closing as part of the brand's collapse into administration. Talks of a rescue deal have since fallen through.

The family-run household goods business, which went into administration last month, will close all shops by mid-October, it is understood.

The GMB Union said that the hopes of a deal which could have saved hundreds of stores and thousands of jobs have collapsed. 

It was announced yesterday that Poundland owner Pepco had agreed to buy up to 71 Wilko stores - Weymouth is not one of them.

So for Weymouth's Wilko on Westham Road the closure could happen 'within weeks' and dozens of staff will lose their jobs.

The store is plastered with signs advertising its administration sale and much of its stock has already been picked clean.

Even the Halloween decorations have been put on sale early, right next to the artificial Christmas trees.

Other businesses to leave the high street in Weymouth in recent years include Debenhams, Argos, McDonald's, Iceland and Barclays Bank. Marks & Spencer is set to move out of the town centre once a new site gets permission at the Gateway site.

Poppy Case from Weymouth is gutted to hear that Wilko will be closing.

She said: "There aren't many other stores like it in Weymouth.

"It means there is less variation on the high street. It is another nail in the coffin for Weymouth.

"It is sad to hear people are losing their jobs. There is nowhere to get a job in Weymouth so they will have to look out of town."

Amy Talbot from Weymouth has shopped at Wilko for years. She often buys birdseed for her kids to feed the ducks.

She said: "It is quite sad that it is going because Weymouth doesn't have a lot of shops left. We won't have anything left soon."

Vicki Richmond from Weymouth shops at Wilko a few times a month to get her basics.

She said: "It is a big place on the high street that is going to be empty. I feel sad for the staff, I don't know what their prospects are going to be like."

Vicky Lee from Weymouth just had a look at the shop. She noted that there is 'hardly anything left on the shelves'.

She said: "It is upsetting because it is quite a good shop.

"I empathise with the people who have lost their jobs. I hope they find new ones soon. it is such a shame because they have worked so hard."

Michael Bolton from Weymouth popped into Wilko to buy some gardening supplies for his son.

He said: "It is really sad, we have been going there for years since it has been open really, and I feel sorry for the people who work there."

Family-owned Wilko employed 12,500 staff and ran 400 shops before it hired administrators early last month after it came under pressure from weak consumer spending and debts to suppliers.

Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce President Paul Appleby said: "It is regrettable that it is closing, but it is a national issue.

"I truly hope another business sees a great opportunity and takes the retail space and uses it well.

"I feel very sorry for the people who work at Wilko, I understand they have been a long-time employer of people in Weymouth. "

Read more: Wilko administration shocks and saddens Weymouth shoppers