Shoppers descended on Woolworths last week to pick up bargains before it shut forever. Jennifer Lipman asked them if they will miss the shop.

Glen Challis, 22, Hartforde Road, gardener “I used to buy CDs here — it was all right for value for money and I still buy stuff there. I’d like to keep it open. I’ll have to go to Tesco for CDs now. The bigger supermarkets are taking over so many places. But that’s life.”

Ken Cousins, 56, previously of Sullivan Way, now lives in Cambridge, greyhoundsman “It’s a shame to see it go. It has been part of Borehamwood for as long as I remember. My dad used to bring me in here when I was a child —Woolworths was the place to come for all sorts of things. I haven’t bought anything, though, it’s too crowded in there. I looked at the DVDs but I’ve got most of them and there’s not a lot on offer.”

Lianne Parram, 18, Howard Drive, full-time mother “I’ll miss it. I go in quite often, it’s quite handy for children’s clothes and toys. I got some good Christmas presents there too, there were some good offers on. They don’t do CDs anywhere else around here — I’ll definitely miss it. It’s sad, my son isn’t going to know what Woolworths is.”

John Baldock, 48, Southgate, civil servant and lay trade union representative “I often come in and shop with my son. I’m horrified at what’s happened. This is the end of a shopping era. It is one of those names you take for granted. I feel sorry for all the hardworking staff who are going to struggle to find new jobs. I feel very emotional about it. It’s a great institution and I’m depressed the Government can’t find enough money to support it.”

Susan Franklin, 47, Arkley Park, works for Help the Aged “It’s awful. It has been there for so long. You could get sweets and saucepans — things like that. It is sad, a real shame that they couldn’t make it to the 100 years.”

Vijit Verma, 32, Rippon Way, hotel night manager “I don’t mind. There are a lot of shops out there that sell the same stuff, so it won’t affect me.”

Jeanette Flint, 44, Digswell Close, school cook manager “Why is it closing? What else is going to be here instead? I come in about once a week, its a good store. It’s a shame its going. We really want a Hobbycraft, there’s nothing like that here.”

Charlotte Flint, 12 “We just bought a pink folder for school work and some school shoes, and a book for my mum. What I’d like is for a Primark to open up here.”

Gill Grey, 45, Enfield, housewife “It’s sad because it was there when I was a child and my mother used to buy Ladybird clothes from there. This is the end of an era. I will miss it, because you could go in and get things you couldn’t get anywhere else, bits and bobs like stationery, cards, stick-on heels, things for school uniforms.”