A further 1,300 Wilko employees will lose their jobs as the discount retailer plans to close 52 of its 400 stores.

The news comes on the same day that rival chain B&M confirmed it would spend £13 million on 51 Wilko sites.

Administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had already confirmed staff would be laid off at Wilko's support and distribution centres in Worksop and Newport,

And today (September 5) GMB Union has confirmed that 52 stores will close, with affected staff due to be told by 10am tomorrow morning.

The union said 24 stores are expected to close on Tuesday, September 12 followed by the remaining 28 on Thursday 14.

A list of which stores will be axed is yet to be published.

The future of the remaining 300 Wilko stores remains unclear after the company fell into administration in August.

"At the meeting PWC confirmed that they are continuing to work with one bidder who has made an offer for a significant part of business," a statement on the GMB website said.

"Whilst there remains a possibility that this fails to deliver, we are working extremely hard and doing everything we can to help it over the line. We expect future developments this week and will be meeting PWC over the next couple of days to discuss progress."