One of Helston’s main shoe shops announced its closure this week.

It makes for an uncertain future for the staff of Stead & Simpson in Meneage Street, who are understood to be waiting to hear whether they will be made redundant or found positions in other branches.

The Helston store has been plastered with bright orange ‘closing down’ signs.

Although no closure date has yet been given, when the shop does finally close its doors for the final time it will leave an empty unit in a prominent position of the town centre.

Penzance’s Stead & Simpson branch is also set to close its doors permanently.

A spokesperson for the Shoe Zone Group, which owns Stead & Simpson, said: “We can confirm that the stores in Helston and Penzance are closing down due to poor performance and rising costs which make the locations unsustainable.

“The decision to close a store is always a difficult one and is not taken lightly.

“We always try to re-deploy any staff affected to nearby stores wherever possible.

“The date of closure is not yet confirmed and we always communicate this to our staff first.”

Staff, who were told of the decision a couple of weeks ago, have been described as “pretty shocked” by the turn of events.

It is a case of déjà vu for Helston residents, who were initially led to believe the shop was shutting back in 2009 when ‘closing down sale’ signs were put in the window.

After 18 months of waiting, as the shop gradually fell into disrepair, it was announced the store was to be turned into a Shoe Zone.

Just weeks later however, in May last year, this decision was reversed and the parent company decided it should remain a Stead & Simpson branch and instead refurbished the shop front.