A MAJOR high street supermarket has announced it is set to close a number of stores over the next five years.

Marks and Spencer is set to shut 67 of its "lower productivity, full line stores", however it announced that it will open 104 "bigger and fresher" stores.

So far, Marks and Spencer has not announced which stores are to close, with many Winchester residents fearing for the safety of their local.

In a statement to the Chronicle, an M&S spokesman said: "We haven’t made any new announcements about store closures. You may have seen some reporting around our presentation to investors this week but the information that was reshared here about our stores is just about our existing long-term plan to rotate our store estate."

Winchester resident Jody Kelly, 18, said that if the Winchester store should close "it is going to be really inconvenient because many of the shops in Winchester aren't enough to do a full shop in, so it's taking away more options. I have just been to four shops trying to find one item, and I have found it in Marks & Spencer.

Hampshire Chronicle:

Chisato Inou, 21, said: "It would be harder to shop. I can get everything here."