Chester-le-Street and Durham's Arnison stores Wilko close

On Tuesday (September 26), it was the turn of Chester-le-Street and Durham's Arnison Centre store to close their doors after the high street retailer fell into administration last month.

The two branches were both part of the final batch to be announced for closure, which has seen over 400 branches of Wilko close nationwide. 

Read more: A final farewell to Darlington Wilko as shoppers say goodbye

Stores in Bishop Auckland, Newton Aycliffe, Peterlee and Darlington had already closed before the final farewell for Chester Le Street and Durham Arnison on Tuesday.

Following the two closures, regular shoppers in both locations have been left saddened by the loss of jobs for staff at the branches, alongside the prospect of having an empty shop.

One shopper, who uses Chester-le-Street for shopping, said: "Yet another shop in the town closing, soon there'll be nothing left. 

Wilko in Chester Le Street (Image: BILLY ATKINSON)

"We have lost several big names over the last few years and I can see why others have gone elsewhere - I might be doing the same soon."

Meanwhile, one shopper who is a regular shopper in Durham's Arnison store added: "This is sad loss for the shopping centre - I feel sorry for the staff members, it's a sad day for them too.

"I always liked coming to Wilko and the staff were great in there."

Earlier this month, administrators confirmed rival discount chain The Range has snapped up Wilko’s brand, website and intellectual property.

Chester Le Street's Wilko store (Image: BILLY ATKINSON)

Meanwhile, a number of Wilko stores in the North East have been snapped up by competitor Poundland.

While the Chester-le-Street and Durham's Arnison Centre won't be saved by Poundland, nine Wilko North East stores will be taken over by Poundland.

The store and the one in Durham's Arnison Centre closed on Tuesday (September 26) (Image: BILLY ATKINSON)

Now that the two County Durham branches have closed, Wilko in Silverlink (Newcastle), Washington, Sunderland, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northallerton and Middlesbrough are the final stores in the North East and North Yorkshire to shut their doors.

As Wilko start winding down across the UK, Santander bank has warned about criminals offering fake “clearance” and “closing down” deals, pretending to be the closing retailer.

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The bank said that the troubles of retailer Wilko have been exploited by scammers.

Criminals may also pretend to be offering “end-of-summer sales”.

Santander said the exploitation of events by scammers was evident last month.

In August alone, more than 5,000 disputes were raised, including those involving scammers imitating companies having closing-down sales or holding end-of-season clearances, according to Santander’s data.