TRAVEL company TUI has closed its Christchurch office for good.

Customers have been contacted by email with the company confirming staff have been offered roles elsewhere within the company.

The email says: "As you've previously visited the Christchurch TUI Store, we wanted to let you know that unfortunately this store has now closed.

"However, we're happy to tell you that our TUI colleagues who previously worked at this store have had the chance to join our homeworking teams or work at an alternative store.

"We'd also like to take this opportunity to thank you for visiting this store. We look forward to helping you book your next holiday soon."

Dorset named as the UK's answer to Tenerife

TUI announced plans to close 48 of its 362 branches in March due to the "unprecedented pressure" on the high street as the result of the coronavirus pandemic.

But it did not reveal which branches would be affected at the time.

At the time a spokesman said: "We want to be in the best position to provide excellent customer service, whether it’s in a high street store, over the telephone or online, and will continue to put the customer at the heart of what we do.

"It is therefore imperative that we make these difficult cost decisions and do our best to look after our colleagues during such unprecedented uncertainty.

Emergency services called to dog over cliff at Highcliffe

"We believe Covid-19 has only strengthened a change in purchasing habits, with people looking to buy online or wishing to speak with travel experts from the comfort of their own home.

"We have world class travel advisors at Tui, so we hope many of them will become homeworkers and continue to offer the personalised service we know our customers value."

TUI closed 166 shops last year, which affected 900 jobs.