Across the country, a number of Wilko stores will be closing their doors for good this week.

In the North East, there are two branches set to empty their shelves.

Bishop Auckland and North Shields will be losing their stores this week.

Across the country, there are 52 Wilko stores closing for good.

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More than 1,000 workers will be working in their branches for the last time this week.

Here is the full list of stores closing in the North East:

  1. Bishop Auckland
  2. North Shields

There are a number of other Wilko branches in the North East at risk of closure:

Wilko - Darlington, East Street

Wilko - Thornaby, Vale House Pavillion Shopping Centre

Wilko - Northallerton, 166 High Street

Wilko - Middlesbrough, 17 Captain Cook Square

Wilko - Redcar, 81 High Street

Wilko - Newton Aycliffe, Aycliffe Shopping Centre

Wilko - Hartlepool, Middleton Grange Shopping Centre

Wilko - Peterlee, Castle Dene Shopping Centre

Wilko - Durham, Arnison Shopping Centre

Wilko - Chester-le-Street, Osborne Roa

Wilko - Washington, Washington Galleries

Wilko - Sunderland, Fawcett Street

Wilko - Newcastle Upon Tyne, Nun Street

The GMB Union, which has about 3,000 members who worked for Wilko, criticised previous management of the beleaguered chain for failing to rescue the business and protect jobs.

It said: “We make no apology for placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of the previous family director and board chair, and will continue to highlight her role in destroying what was a successful business whilst taking millions in dividends.”

In August it was confirmed by the Wilko’s chief executive officer Mark Jackson that the company was filing a notice of intention.

He said: “While we can confirm we’ve had a significant level of interest, including indicative offers that we believe would meet all our financial criteria to recapitalise the business, at present, we don’t today have an offer that provides the necessary liquidity in the time we have available, given the mounting cash pressures we’re faced with.

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“Unfortunately, with this in mind, today we’re having to take the difficult decision to file a notice of intention.

“We’ll continue to progress discussions with interested parties with the aim of completing a transaction which preserves the business and will encourage those interested parties we’re in discussions with to move as fast as possible.

“We continue to believe that our robust turnaround plan, with significant re-stabilisation cost savings in progress, will deliver a profitable Wilko and maximise the significant opportunities that we know exist.”