A PHARMACY has been forced to close, with staff being made redundant.

Lloyds Pharmacy, on Skimpead Hill, is set to close, following the decision made by the firm to close 190 stores nationwide.

The pharmacy, which is located just a few minutes from the Evergreen doctors practice, is commonly used by residents, but has been named as one of the pharmacies which is set to be axed.

A petition has already been started in a bid to reverse the decision and keep the pharmacy running.

Sharon Wilkinson, who set up the change.org page, wrote: “Lloyds Pharmacy in Skimped hill health centre is closing in March 2018.

“The community will miss the helpful staff and the convenience of the pharmacy being next to the surgeries.

“Personally I prefer this pharmacy over others as they are always helpful and very quick with prescriptions.”

At the time of writing, 47 people have signed the petition.

A Lloyds Pharmacy spokesman said: "We can confirm that we are in the process of closing our LloydsPharmacy on Skimped Hill Lane.

"This is an on-going process, therefore it is too early to give any further details.

"Our priority is to ensure that our employees and patients are cared for and supported during this period.

"This decision has been made due to NHS England cuts to reimbursement and increases in retrospective clawbacks, which means this store is no longer commercially viable."