HUNDREDS of customers turned up to Southampton’s Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores in the bid to bag a bargain as the brand prepared to shut down for good.

Parents and children descended on the city store which is one of 100 owned by the company due to be closed in weeks.

More than 3,000 staff across the country are to lose their jobs in the closure.

It is not known what will happened to the Toys R Us site, in Western Esplanade, opposite Southampton Central train station, following the six-week “wind-down”.

Meanwhile city customers were hoping to grab a bargain over the weekend.

Among the bargains were a bright pink Fiat 500 ride-on car down from £129.99 to £84.99, a summer lodge down from £169.99 to £109.99, a 6V Porsche Macan Cara ride-on car from £179.99 to £119.99, a Nerf N-Strike Elite AccuStrike RaptorStrike down from £59.99 to £34.99 and an 18in Avigo Recon BMX Bike down from £79.99 to £49.99.

One couple at the Southampton store were Marcin and Edyta Bala, who were shopping for their unborn baby. Marcin said: “We were just looking around the sales. It’s sad that it’s closing –why is it closing?

“It’s a shame.”

Inside, parents and children tried to make the most of the bargains, as some racks lay almost bare of wares, and the shop was filled with discount signs.

Staff were rushing about trying to get the last of their stock out on to the shelves, and helping customers.

Some customers looked upon the closure with nostalgia.

Julia Davies and Marie Dawes have been using the shop for years.

“We’ve been buying here for 20-odd years for children, and grandchildren,” said Julia. “It feels like the end of an era. It’s always been the place to go for children’s toys. We’re sad to see it go.”

Meanwhile, customer Andia Jenkins added: “It’s a bit of a shocker that it’s shutting down.

“It’s probably because everything’s online, its closure is a sign of the time.

“It used to be easy to pop in and get something.” Mum Sarah Lamb was shopping at the store with her children.

She said the closure meant online shopping may be one of the only options left.

“It’s a good toy shop. They have a good range of tech-related stuff,” she added.

“There aren’t that many other options now – you can only really get stuff like this online. Christmas will be hard.”