CLOTHING giant Marks and Spencer will close its town centre store in Slough in July, it has been confirmed, following a staff consultation.

As reported in April, the store was going through a proposed closure process with six stores up and down the country having their futures reviewed.

M&S confirmed today, Wednesday, that the High Street store will now close on Saturday, July 29 with 60 staff affected. They had all been offered jobs in other M&S stores including the M&S Food in Bath Road, Slough and the new Bracknell store which is still to open.

However M&S would not reveal how many of the staff had chosen to stay on with the company and some were still being spoken to "about what was good for them".

This was despite a statement suggesting they had all chosen to stay on.

Gordon Scott, regional manager for Home Counties South at M&S said: “Deciding to close the store next month was difficult, but necessary.

"I’d like to thank the team for their hard work and dedication to serving customers and I’m delighted they are staying with M&S.

"We’re committed to offering our customers in the area the very best of M&S through our stores on Bath Road and in Windsor and the soon to open large store in Bracknell, as well as online at M&S.com.”

The company had originally said that any closure, were it to go through, would happen in June at the Slough store.

The Slough store will get the chop alongside the M&S in Warrington, Cheshire on the same date - with the Saturday being the final day of trading. The company's store in Portsmouth is also going and M&S Wokingham's future is yet to be decided.

The remaining two stores are still undergoing their own staff consultations, M&S said.