Sign up to FREE email alerts from KentLive - Daily Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

With four of Kent's Debenhams just days from closure the stores are looking eerily bare and empty.

Instead of cosmetics, household goods and clothing, the town centre buildings are full of packing boxes, cages and abandoned shelving.

The long-standing high street staple announced in April that it would leave Chatham , Canterbury, Folkestone and Ashford early in 2020.

Kent's soon to be empty Debenhams stores and what will happen to them

Now pictures have emerged of each of these stores showing rows of empty shelves, huge 'closing down' signs and offers of up to 80 per cent off on remaining stock.

Press here or on the gallery below to see inside Kent's four bare and empty Debenhams as they approach closure

In them savvy shoppers can also be spotted grabbing last minute bargains before the chain's inevitable departure from our high streets.

In Debenhams in Canterbury stock can be seen strewn across its three buildings.

Some clothing and cookware still remains, but large parts of the store have been taken over by cages.

There are plans for the now sorry-looking building after Debenham's confirmed departure on January 19 though.

Plans were submitted to Canterbury City Council last September to replace the department store with 74 apartments and 12 retail units, named the Guildhall Quarter.

This, if approved, will also include rooftop extensions and terraces, plus a new frontage.

Planners at the city council have not yet made a decision.

The Folkestone store is also confirmed to close for good on January 19.

Here pared back shelves dominate the large building, with very little stock left on offer.

The good news is that Folkestone and Hythe District Council already have plans in the works for the dilapidated building.

The day Debenhams announced it would axe its long standing Folkestone store the council revealed plans to potentially turn the large site into a cinema, flats and apartments.

Cinema plans were met with a mixed reaction as independent business Silver Screens trades just five minutes down the road.

But the council has insisted nothing is set in stone, and is now appealing for residents to give their views.

Now in its second phase, there is an option to fill out questionnaires in the town centre or online .

Ashford's store is not in a traditional high street setting, but instead it occupies a large unit in the County Square shopping centre.

This will also close on January 19.

Inside large bargain buckets can be seen flogging off the last of the stock.

The cafe inside the store has also been piled high with cardboard boxes.

While there are no concrete plans for the store's future, bosses at County Square have said talks are underway with "various interested parties" to fill it.

A spokesman said she hopes these discussions materialise into a positive announcement.

Chatham's Debenham's will close four days earlier than the others in Kent, on January 15.

Medway Council said it was "disappointing" that Chatham will lose its Debenhams store, which has been a fixture in the town since 2005.

A sign outside ominously warns shoppers that it is the "last few days" for them to pick up a bargain.

No plans for another shop to fill the unit have yet been revealed.

Nationwide, nineteen stores are set to shut their doors between January 11 and 25, with a further 28 set to close down next year.

Debenhams went into administration in April 2019 as the company struggled to adapt to rising competition from online rivals and because a general decline of high street shopping.

The company's CEO Terry Duddy said: "The issues facing the UK high street are very well known.

"Debenhams has a clear strategy and a bright future.

"We remain focused on protecting as many stores and jobs as possible, consistent with establishing a sustainable store portfolio in line with our previous guidance."

Nationally, the closures are reported to result in 660 job losses.

Details of the stores set to shut in early 2021 are yet to emerge.