BROMSGROVE'S branch of Pizza Hut, which has served generations of pizza lovers in the town, has closed.

Rumours have circulated for months that the America restaurant chain was pulling out of the town, which were further fuelled after the emergence of a To Let sign above the store.

In recent years the chain has closed a number of its sit down restaurants across the UK, as part of a wider attempt to boost profits.

The firm closed its Bromsgrove restaurant to the public at the weekend. Workmen moved in and began stripping the building's fixtures and fittings earlier today, (March 3).

The restaurant has been in its location at the bottom of High Street for decades and also ran a delivery service.

The Advertiser contacted the firm and asked about redundancies. Although a number was not provided, a Pizza Hut spokesman said all the branch's staff would be relocated to other restaurants in the local area "where possible".

The spokesman said: "We continually evaluate the location of our restaurants to ensure they are in the best possible areas to meet consumer demand, and have now closed our Bromsgrove High Street restaurant.

"We have a popular restaurant in Kidderminster, so will still have a strong presence in the area and we are confident our customers will continue to visit us."

The closure follows the recent announcement that another major firm, Mothercare, was also pulling out of Bromsgrove High Street.

It is expected to close it store on March 19.