The mayor of Pwllheli has spoken of his sadness at the closure of the town’s Wilko store.

The branch of the beleaguered hardware store closed on Thursday, 21 September. All 400 branches, including Porthmadog, will close by early October.

Mayor Michael Parry visited the Pwllheli store on its final day of trading.

“And what a sad sight it was,” he told the Cambrian News.

“There was a sparse sprinkling of customers in the store trying no doubt to take advantage of the final day’s discounts.

“The vast majority of the store was basically a collection of empty shelving cleaned and ready for selling no doubt.

“One member of staff was busy removing some directional arrows off the floor with a scraper of some kind - which no doubt will be part of handing the building back over process to the landlord, in an acceptable condition.

“I expressed my sorrow to the young member of staff that served me and I thanked him and his fellow workers for their efforts in Pwllheli - they will be missed. The person in front of me expressed similar sentiments and wished him all the best in his pursuit of alternative employment in the future.”

He added: “One has concerns purely because of the physical size of the building, that finding an alternative tenant will not be easy in today’s economic climate - but if one is found they will be given a warm welcome by myself on behalf of the town council. We are very much a glass half full organisation with positive thoughts and plans for the future!

“We hope that the redundant staff are able to find alternate employment soon so that they secure their futures and can carry on contributing towards the local economy and society. Thank you, every single one of you!”