It has been a long time coming but the final closing dates for three south-west London Debenhams have been announced.

The department store chain entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in April 2019 which put as many as 22 stores at risk of closure.

Terry Duddy, executive chairman of Debenhams, said at the time: "The issues facing the UK high street are very well known.

"Debenhams has a clear strategy and a bright future, but in order for the business to prosper, we need to restructure the group's store portfolio and its balance sheet, which are not appropriate for today's much-changed retail environment.

"Our priority is to save as many stores and as many jobs as we can, while making the business fit for the future."

Now it has been announced that a total of 19 stores will close this month, including the ones in Walton, Wimbledon and Wandsworth.

Debenhams chief executive Stefaan Vansteenkiste said in a statement: "We are working hard to implement the transformation of Debenhams.

"Despite a challenging retail environment, thanks to our colleagues' hard work and our investor group's commitment we are progressing with our turnaround."

The closing dates for the south-west London stores are:

Walton - January 11

Wimbledon - January 19

Wandsworth - January 11