CLARKS shoe shop in Blandford has announced it has closed doors. 

The shop on Market Place closed doors on April 23 and thanked its 'loyal customers' throughout the years.

Several Blandford residents took to Facebook to share their disappointment of the closure of the large footwear chain. 

A spokesperson for Clarks said: “Clarks confirms its stores at Blandford has closed.

"We’d like to thank our loyal customers who have shopped with us at our Blandford store, and we’ll be delighted to continue to serve them with our full range of products online and at our nearby Clarks stores in Wimborne, Poole and Bournemouth.”

The shop was one of four in West Dorset with the others based in Wimborne, Poole, and Bournemouth. 

The news follows the recent closure of several stores across the country with seven other stores in UK closing at the end of 2023. 

The reason it has shut doors has not been disclosed and it is unknown if the staff have been made redundant.

Clarks is one of the UK's oldest high street retailers, founded in 1825 in Street, Somerset by brothers Cyrus and James Clark.

A year away from it's 200th birthday, the unexpected closure has shocked many residents.