'It's very disappointing and could be another nail in the coffin for the high street': Shoppers speak of sadness as popular Bridgnorth high street store at risk of closure

It would mean that more than 1,500 people across the two companies' UK and Irish operations could lose their jobs as the pair of retailers were both bought last year by Modella Capital but it said "neither has a realistic possibility of trading profitably again".

The Original Factory Shop is housed in Bridgnorth's former Woolworths store in High Street which was also once home to a hotel and sells a broad range of everyday items such as cleaning and beauty products alongside electrical goods and footwear.

The store is one of the largest stores in Bridgnorth's retail community, as well as being one of the chain's best-performing stores in the region, and sees a steady stream of people walking in to have a look around and buy items for their homes.

As the news broke about the possibility of the store closing, the store was still busy on a Tuesday lunchtime, with a number of people walking in to look around and to talk to the staff about the store and their thoughts on the future.

The potential loss of a major store on Bridgnorth's high street was one which several people felt might have an adverse effect on the town, such as Bob Goodman from Bridgnorth.

The 81-year-old, who was out shopping with his wife Barbara, said he felt it would be detrimental to Bridgnorth if it lost another store from the high street.

He said: "We've shopped in there a few time, buying quite a few books, as well as lots of ladies clothing, shoes and kitchenware, and it's always been a good store to go to.

"I'm very disappointed to hear about it going into administration as if it closes, it's going to be another nail in the coffin of Bridgnorth's high street.

"We've already lost one or two good national stores on the high street and I think it's really suffering because of all this loss, so I hope it can survive."

Another local resident who said he felt the store closing could add to the decline of the high street in the town was Pete Oliver, with the 69-year-old saying it was a store which provided something for everyone.

He said: "It's a part of the high street and, to me, the high street is dying because you can look at the empty shops and the number of charity shops which have opened up and it's a very sad sight.

"I've lived in Bridgnorth since 1969 and I've been in this store a few times when it was Woolworths and when it became the Factory Shop and it's one of those stores that you can get anything in and it's a proper all-purpose store, so it would be sad if it closed."

One person who said he wasn't surprised to hear about the store and the administration was Maurice Chater from Wombourne, with the 82-year-old saying he felt the store had been pricing itself too high.

He said: "I think the prices have gone up a lot in there, but the quality is not as good as it used to be in there.

"You only have to look up and down the high street and see the number of empty shops to see how it's getting gradually worse and this will just add to it as it's the loss of a big store from Bridgnorth."

The news of the potential administration had been going around the town, with John Hickling among the residents who were just finding out.

The 54-year-old said he was surprised and a bit saddened to find out about the store as he felt it would be a major loss to the town.

He said: "I've only just heard from a friend this morning about it and I'm a bit gutted, to be honest, as they're always had decent stuff in there, like clothes for men, and I would always go in there for the clothes and other bits and bobs.

"It's going to have an impact on Bridgnorth as, clothes-wise, there's no other places in Bridgnorth that sell clothes and anything like that.

"I have to hope that it can be saved, but we also had Bodycare which went before Christmas and we thought that it was going to be saved so, with the way the economy is at the moment, it doesn't seem like a great hope."