HIGH-street store Poundland has said it is closing 100 branches during the coornavirus outbreak.

The bargain stores have remained open as the Covid-19 crisis continually escalates, though plans are now having to be re-thought.

Now a selection of 100 stores across the country are to be temporarily closed, with the company citing the need for a "hibernation period" while the country battles to get the spread of the deadly virus under control.

Reduced footfall in the stores has prompted the move, after the Government declared a lockdown period and urged the public only to leave the safety of home for essential travel, a shop of necessities, or a daily period of exercise.

On Wednesday the company outlined that the temporary closure of some stores will allow it to "provide better service to communities" while also putting the retailer in a better position for the business to recover once the current measures put in place to stop the spread of Covid-19 are later lifted.

Shops set for closure are primarily those in close relationship to a fellow Poundland on the same high-street or local area.

Poundland stores located inside shopping centres or arcades which have been earmarked for general closure will also now see their shutters pulled down.

Staff working in the stores set for closure are to be moved to neighbouring Poundlands, in order to boost number and to help the process of covering for fellow employees on sick leave or those self-isolating.