A PENWORTHAM woman has vowed to boycott Booths after supermarket bosses announced the closure of two of their stores.

Booths, which employs 19 staff at Towngate, Leyland, and 25 at the Liverpool Road store in Penwortham, made the decision at a board meeting yesterday (Wednesday) because of losses of £400,000 and £300,000 in the respective stores in the last four years.

Nine staff members have been redeployed to the firm's other outlets in Millbrook Way, Penwortham, and Longton, and at the head office in Preston. The remaining 35 have opted for voluntary redundancy.

Mary Dawes, 41, of Shaftesbury Avenue, Penwortham, who collected more than 2,500 signatures against the closure of the Liverpool Road store, said she was greatly saddened to hear the news.

"It is the end of an era. It really is a sad day for the people of Penwortham. It's a shame that we've lost it but my work was not done in vain because I know I fought hard to keep it."

She said the elderly will suffer the most. "Everyone will miss the store. It's used by a cross section of people but a lot of those people will be able to find an alternative," she said.

"It is older people in Penwortham who will struggle. They used it because it was close to their homes and easy for them to get to. I just don't know what they'll do."

Mary, a trainee nurse, believes Booths will lose a lot of custom.

She said: "I think their reputation will be damaged and their family orientated image will be lost.

"A lot of people I have spoken to said that they won't shop there anymore because of the way they have been treated. I will never shop there again."

Edwin Booth, chairman of Booth Supermarkets, said: "I am personally very sad, both for customers and staff, that we have had to close the stores. I would particularly like to thank all the staff for their best efforts at what has been a very difficult time.

"The losses from the sites, however, are unsustainable, and the rest of the company could not bear them any longer."

Booths say they are committed to the Preston area with the building of a multi-million pound distribution centre in Longridge Road, the Longton store that opened in 2000, and a flagship store in Chorley earmarked for completion next year.

It is thought this will create up to 100 new jobs.