A Morrisons branch in a Suffolk town has been proposed as one of seven stores to be closed, it can be revealed.

Staff at the Morrisons store in Stowmarket were informed of the decision yesterday, a spokeswoman for the supermarket chain confirmed.

The news comes after the Bradford-based company said it would close seven stores, despite a 0.2% rise in like-for-like sales excluding fuel in the nine weeks to January 3.

Around 680 jobs are under threat from the seven store closures.

A Morrisons spokeswoman said: “We have looked at how we can improve the Stowmarket store’s long-term viability.

“Unfortunately we have not found a way to turn this store around and are therefore proposing its closure.

“We are consulting with colleagues and unions and we will be discussing how to reduce redundancies and redeploy colleagues around our business.”