CHILDREN'S wear shop Adams has closed its Ipswich branch this week. .

CHILDREN'S wear shop Adams has closed its Ipswich branch this week.

Signs advertising a 70pc sale remained in the windows, as did a small notice informing customers that the company had gone into administration.

The news comes as the high street in Ipswich said goodbye to Woolworths and MyJuice and prepares to bid farewell to Oasis due to the economic downturn.

Adams stores in King's Lynn, Thetford, Peterborough and three in Norfolk, were among 111 stores that closed nationally as about 850 staff were made redundant.

The remaining 160 stores are still trading and administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), said they were hopeful they could sell parts of the business.

Rob Hunt, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: “In light of the current downturn being experienced on the high street, it is with regret that it has been necessary to effect the closure of 111 stores throughout the UK as of today.

“Unfortunately, this will inevitably lead to a number of job losses and 850 people across the company will be made redundant with immediate effect. My team and I will be doing all we can to help these employees at this difficult time.”

Adams was founded in Birmingham in 1933 by Amy Adams and celebrated its 75th anniversary last year.

The group was bought out of administration in February 2007 and it had begun to show signs of improvement but a sharp deterioration in trading and competition from supermarket chains had reportedly hit the group's ability to service its debts.