The Isle of Man lost one of its largest shops today after Woolworths shut its doors for the last time.

The store in Strand Street closed earlier this evening, along with 850 other locations across the British Isles.

Shoppers had been packing into the store all day, hoping to pick up cut-price bargains in the closing-down sale.

It’s the end of an era after decades of serving customers here in the Island.

Jason Roberts reports (text, below, from attached audio file):

It’s the end of the line for the Douglas store, which employed as many as 50 people in the run-up to Christmas.

They will now be helped to find new jobs by the Department of Trade and Industry, which says Jobcentre staff will be in touch with those made redundant.

Woolworths is the highest-profile retailer to fall victim to the credit crunch, as banks refused to let it restructure its debts.

And when administrators Deloittes admitted they couldn’t find a buyer for the chain, the fate of the popular store in Douglas was sealed.