THE owners of the Burtons store in Darlington have confirmed that the shop will close later this month.

Arcadia, which operates a number of High Street clothing stores, said the lease on the outlet will expire on September 20, when the shop will close for the final time.

A spokesman for Arcadia said the company would "endeavour to re-deploy staff affected by the closure to another store within the Arcadia Group".

A statement released by Arcadia said: "We are constantly reviewing our store portfolio across the group, and leases continually expire or come up for renewal.

"We are always looking at how to shape our store portfolio, investing in flagship stores, and increasing our brands' presence on-line. Our click and collect service across the brands is also proving a successful way of helping our customers collect their purchases at a location most convenient to them."

With the closure of the Darlington Burtons store, the nearest outlets will be in Bishop Auckland and with Outfit, at Teesside Park.