BRIGHT yellow closing down sale signs now adorn all sides of Hexham’s flagship high street store.

After the department store Beales announced it was to close its base on the town’s Fore Street when the lease expired on September 21, sales to get rid of remaining stock started on Monday.

The store’s chief executive Tony Brown announced the store’s closure last month, blaming poor trade and high business rates for the demise of the store.

However, he has since insisted Beales will return to the Tyne Valley and a deal, in principle, has already been agreed with landlord Buccleuch Estates to purchase a 27,000 sq ft space when the site is redeveloped.

A total of 71 jobs will be lost when Beales, which bought Robbs of Hexham out of administration in 2010, closes its doors.