THE Christchurch branch of the electrical chain Comet closed its doors for the last time on Monday night as administrators announced more job losses.

The joint administrators for the chain plan to close 41 stores by the end of November.

Another 14 stores are to begin closing down sales early next week, and discounts are being offered across all the remaining 195 stores.

Every television at Christchurch was sold on Saturday except one with a 24-inch screen that remained on the shelves on Monday.

Peter Nickowski, 50, who lives in Christchurch, said: “I was passing by and spotted the closing down signs.

“I’ve just been in and picked up a fax machine for a tenner, which is a real bargain.”

Ian Richards, 43, from New Milton, had gone in to see if there was a suitable present for his daughter, but left empty-handed, as did Melanie Woods and Andy Brown from Christchurch.

Mr Brown said: “The shelves are empty – we should have gone earlier I think.

“The bargain hunters have beat us to it.”

The joint administrators for the chain plan to close 41 stores by the end of November.

Another 14 stores are to begin closing down sales early next week, and discounts are being offered across all the remaining 195 stores.

A statement said: “While the administrators will look to redeploy staff from any stores which do face closure to other stores nearby, there will inevitably be redundancies. A dedicated employee helpline is in place and the company is running an employee assistance programme to help those staff made redundant find other jobs.

“The administrators continue to hold discussions with parties who have expressed interest in parts of the business.”

Chris Farrington, joint administrator, added: "We are very grateful to the company's employees for their professionalism, loyalty and support at this difficult time and all employees will of course continue to be paid for all the work they do while the company is in administration."

There has been no announcement yet on the future of the two branches in Poole.

The administrators have also announced that 700 more jobs will go, mainly from the company's home delivery network.