EIGHT employees will lose their jobs after a Blackburn record store announced it was closing.

Head Records, in The Mall, will be closing down in the New Year after only 15 months of trading.

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The town centre store opened in October last year in place of the former HMV unit.

Unfortunately, the store has had to announce its closure, due to only having a temporary contract.

It will close its door for the last time in mid-January and, as a result, eight members of permanent staff will lose their jobs.

Head Records manager Michelle Mangan said she was devastated to have to leave The Mall.

She said: “I have absolutely loved working here and we’ve had lots of positive feedback on Facebook after we announced the closure.

“It’s just this store that is closing so, thankfully, it’s not a more wide-ranging issue.

“It’s a real shame that we are having to leave. We are trying to find another spot in Blackburn, but it really depends on prices – we’re having little success at the moment.”

National toy retailer The Entertainer, which will have a permanent contract, will move into the unit on King William Street.

Head Records, which sells CDs, DVDs and vinyl, has five other shops across the country in Bromley, Warrington, Bristol, Leamington Spa and Belfast.

The Blackburn store is the only one closing.

Lorraine Jones, general manager at The Mall, said: “It has been a pleasure to have Head here in The Mall.”

It has been predicted by staff that the store’s final trading day will be January 20.