A SHOP where Nestlé Rowntree staff and former employees can buy discounted Nestlé products is to close down.

But the company says that no one will miss out on their long-standing right to cheaper chocolates and other goods from across the Nestlé range, because they will be able to order items online instead.

Even people who don't have access to a computer have not been forgotten, as it will be possible for them to place "paper orders" instead.

The shop, situated across the road from the factory complex in Haxby Road, is understood to have been in existence for decades, originally within the factory site.

It is visited by both current members of staff and also many Nestlé pensioners, who have cards entitling them to buy Rowntree chocolates and other Nestlé group products at a discount.

A company spokesman said the shop was closing in a move mirrored at other Nestlé sites across the UK.

He was unable to say when the York shop would shut, although one source told The Press that it was expected to happen on March 28. It is not known what will happen to the shop building, nor is it yet known how people ordering items will subsequently receive them, for example whether it will be delivered to their home or will have to be picked up from a depot.

However, a source said it was believed that there would be an online ordering and collect service.

Asked whether anyone working at the shop would be made redundant or redeployed elsewhere at the York site, a company spokeswoman declined to comment. She also declined to reveal how big a percentage discount staff receive at the shop.

A worker told The Press that the shop had once been very popular, particularly with pensioners, and was still used today. "People would go there to get their Easter eggs or chocolate assortments, or Mother's Day presents," said the worker.

"The discounts vary. Sometimes there will be chocolate misshapes on at a special offer, or something like yoghurt for just three pence because it is near its sell-by date."