CARD shop Birthdays closed on Canvey yesterday.

Seven staff lost their jobs after the store in Furtherwick Road was forced to shut after the company went into administration last month.

The shop, part of a national chain, is the latest on Canvey to close. The Echo told last week how Penn Sports was moving out of the Knightswick shopping centre leaving a total of four shops now empty at the mall.

Penn Sports will now operate solely as an internet-based mail-order firm.

A worker at Birthdays, who did not want to be named, said: “We’re all really sad to see it go, we’ve been looking for other jobs but unfortunately it’s a difficult time to find work.

“Business had been all right. I think it’s down to the problems with other stores.”

Birthdays Limited owns more than 200 stores nation-wide, but was forced to call in the receivers on May 20 after failing to find a buyer for the troubled business.

Peter Saville, partner at administrators Zolfo Cooper Europe, said: “We are disappointed at this development and understand the impact it will have on the employees. We had hoped to effect a sale of these stores, but this hasn’t been possible.”