SEXY lingerie retailer Ann Summers is closing its Carlisle store.

Closing down signs have appeared in the window of its Scotch Street store and prices have been slashed by up to 75 per cent.

It is not known what will happen to the staff at the store, which sells underwear and sex toys.

The branch, which is next door to Game and Patisserie Valerie, will close its doors on March 31.

Shoppers in the city were saddened to hear of the store's imminent closure.

Courtney Gray, 24, of Morton, Carlisle, said: "A lot more shops are starting to shut. Some new ones are coming but not staying for long. To be honest, Ann Summers is the only real shop in Carlisle for women's lingerie. It's really sad that the high street is so quiet."

Angela Bell, a publican from Workington, said: "I'm devastated that shops are closing all the time. I hate how internet shopping is taking over. I love to have a look around. It's not the same looking at a screen. You can't touch and feel the clothes."

No one from Ann Summers or The Lanes Shopping Centre were available for comment.

The closure comes as many High Street retailers are struggling for survival.

Men's clothing firm Blue Inc shut its doors before Christmas in The Lanes Shopping Centre.

But, in recent weeks, the Carlisle branch of cake chain Patisserie Valerie has been saved from closure, as has music store HMV which has also has a branch in The Lanes.

The city's House of Fraser store has escaped closure but has lost some of its concessions. One of those is beauty retailer Chanel.

The first Ann Summers shop was opened in 1970 in Marble Arch, London, from which it grew to six shops.

In 1981, David Gold installed his daughter Jacqueline Gold, who is the current chief executive of Ann Summers, as the boss of the company.

She went on to introduce the Party Plan concept to the business, which sees Ann Summers party planners visit homes with the latest range of goods from the store.