Lloyds Pharmacy is to close 190 branches across England, it has been announced.

Lloyds is the UK's biggest group of community pharmacies and it is thought that hundreds of jobs could be at risk.

Its parent company, Celesio, announced the decision in a message to staff, saying it was partly due to Government funding cuts.

The message, from Managing Director Cormac Tobin, said: "With pressures in the economic and funding landscape, it is vital that we take a leading role in the evolution of community pharmacy, to ensure that our business is sustainable for the future.

"This has resulted in us having to take some difficult decisions, which will mean us making some changes to our operations.

"Today I am announcing that we will cease to trade in approximately 190 of our pharmacies in England, through a combination of store closures and divestments."

It is unclear which branches will be affected.