POUNDLAND will shut one of its three Colchester stores temporarily due to the third lockdown in England.

The discount retailer said it would place a raft of its stores into “hibernation” from Saturday.

It said the vast majority of its more than 800 stores will remain open due its status as an essential retailer.

However, Poundland said it will close the doors to 44 of its shops which have been impacted by an 80 per cent fall in footfall across some shopping centres and high streets due to the lockdown measures.

During the first lockdown in March, Poundland temporarily shut 120 stores but reopened these sites in May as footfall began to recover.

The store in Culver Street will be closed but customers can still visit the Sheepen Road and Turner Rise shops.

Austin Cooke, Poundland’s retail director, said: “We learned valuable lessons during the lockdown in March about how buying patterns change as people stick to Government advice to stay at home.

“Putting a small number of stores into hibernation helps protect them for the long term and focus our attention on the majority of stores that remain open to serve their neighbourhoods.

“We hope this lockdown is short and we can reopen our hibernating stores as quickly as possible and we remain grateful for the vital support schemes available to us that help protect jobs.”