THE final BHS stores closed their doors yesterday, marking the end for one of Britain's best-known retailers.

York's city-centre branch in Coney Street was among the final closures.

The doors there were locked before the official 4pm closing time.

Inside, staff could be seen hugging one another on the shopfloor, which had been stripped of all stock, fixtures and fittings.

One worker removed the window dressings as they prepared to leave for the last time.

A number of shoppers tried unsuccessfully to open the locked doors.

One woman said: "I needed some new clothes so I thought I would come down here today but it is closed.

"I always shop at BHS so it is really sad to see it close down."

Store worker Janet Scott, 61, from Haxby, wiped tears from her eyes as she described how she had worked at BHS for just under 20 years.

She said: "It's a sad day. I'm gutted."

York Press:

BHS ahead of its opening in 1968

Mrs Scott said the last day in the store had been "manic" and added: "But the staff were feeling quite upbeat and feeling positive about it. You've just got to get on and do the job, haven't you?"

She said she would miss the customers after working for years in the schoolwear department.

She said: "People come in that you've seen every week. I've seen children growing up from that age to getting their last school uniform."

Bronte Hardy, 18, from Tadcaster, said she had worked at the York store since leaving school at 16.

She said she was angry at the closure, describing it as "unfair".

York Press:

Shopper Alan Steele, 62, said he had visited the store earlier in the week and described it as being like a "jumble sale" and he saw one customer leave with a pile of cardboard boxes.

He said: "It's very sad, very sad. It's been an institution over the years and I'll be sad to see it go."

BHS was launched 88 years ago, and the Coney Street branch opened in 1968. York's other branch, at Monks Cross, opened in 1999 and closed earlier this month.

York Press:

Administrators Duff & Phelps and FRP Advisory have overseen scores of closures over recent weeks, including BHS's flagship Oxford Street store in London's West End.

The department store's collapse in April has affected 11,000 jobs, 22,000 pensions, sparked a lengthy parliamentary inquiry and left its high-profile former owners potentially facing a criminal investigation.

Retail billionaire Sir Philip Green has borne the brunt of the public fallout, having been branded the "unacceptable face of capitalism" by furious MPs.

Sir Philip owned BHS for 15 years before selling it to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1 in 2015.

Sir Philip has come under fire for taking more than £400 million in dividends from the chain, leaving it with a £571 million pension deficit and for selling it to a man with no retail experience.

Veteran Labour MP Frank Field has asked the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to launch a formal investigation into the pair to ascertain if any criminal wrongdoing occurred during the sale of the chain and throughout their respective ownerships.

It has also emerged that Mr Field is probing Sir Philip's Arcadia retail empire, which includes Topshop.