EIGHTY jobs were axed when a Kidderminster designer clothes and homeware department store closed its doors for the last time on Tuesday.

Three weeks after De Bradelei Mill was passed into the hands of administrators, Dilip Dattani and Patrick Ellward, the Weavers Wharf store has closed after they failed to find a buyer to take over the business.

Mr Ellward confirmed they were also unable to find new buyers for the De Bradelei Mill stores in Lutterworth and Melton Mowbray, in Leicestershire.

Stores in Belper, in Derbyshire, Nottingham and Dover, in Kent, however, will continue to trade.

He added: "De Bradelei Mill went into administration in December due to a combination of reasons - one of those being that it was failing to make a profit.

"Belper, Nottingham and Dover have new buyers but what happens to the store in Kidderminster is out of our hands now.

"It will be down to the landlord as to what happens to the building."

The Kidderminster store, the largest of the six branches, was housed in the Grade II listed former wool spinning factory, Slingfield Mill.

It opened in October, 2003, and the company operated as a clearance house for many leading high street and designer brands, including Kaliko, Jaques Vert, Royal Doulton, Ponden Mill and French Connection.