AS the bargain-hungry crowds thronged Woolworths in Camden High Street today you could have forgiven the mostly young staff - all now facing redundancy - for thinking: "Where were you when we needed you."

The answer, of course, was probably down the road at Rymans or Robert Dyas or any other specialised retailer whose erosion of Woolworths' customer base has led to its collapse.

Most of the staff at Camden were probably too busy to ponder such questions as the shelves were stripped bare and the queues for the tills stretched around the shop. Customers attracted by the publicity had returned for one last visit to what was once called "the wonder of Woolies".

After all, where else could you buy a tin of paint, a children's Batman outfit, a top 10 CD, a Star Wars light sabre and a multi-purpose tool all in one place at the same time.

Many such items and more appeared piled up on the buggy of Harlham Charles, eight months, whose mother Loreen Charles, 24, from Hertfordshire, had made a special trip to Camden for the occasion, all the branches near her being almost empty.

She said: "I got a Wii game, DVD, kitchen containers, two tins of chocolate, sheets and various other things. It's so sad Woolies are closing. I've always liked them because they sell everything you need."

Also filling their baskets with toys for their children's Christmas party were Agnes Martin and Elaine Baker who had travelled up from the City. They said they worked for an investment bank - so presumably needed to be particularly frugal this year? "Oh no, we've always come here," they chirruped. "It's just cheaper this year."

However, Morrie Brian, 58, from Swiss Cottage, was a bit disgruntled. He knew from the huge signs the patio cleaner he admired was 20 per cent off, but off what he couldn't work out since all the staff were too busy to ask.

While most of the shelves rapidly emptied, there were still plenty of DVDs and CDs. But Joe Hung, 26, was not impressed. "There's nothing here for me. It's still cheaper to buy online if you want that kind of thing," he said.

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