A town centre supermarket is set to close with the loss of 26 jobs after trading for more than 25 years.

The Co-op in Church Street, Burgess Hill, will shut in less than a month because of falling sales.

It marks the end of the Co-operative Group in Mid Sussex. The nearest Co-op store will be in Hove.

The 7,500sqft shop will close on December 16. The building will be sold with the loss of three full-time and 23 part-time jobs, although the Co-op hopes to find work for some staff at other stores.

The Post Office within the shop will remain open and its 11 staff will be unaffected.

A spokesman for the company said the decision to close had been taken with much regret and was due to the store's poor trading performance.

He said: "We could not continue to operate the store with declining sales and increasing losses."

He emphasised the company remained committed to community retailing in the region and said the Co-op had already created 120 jobs in the area and spent several million pounds on refits.

However, residents and councillors fear the closure will further destroy the town centre and encourage more charity shops.

Anne Jones, district and town councillor for Burgess Hill, said: "I was so shocked that it's closing just before Christmas. I don't think someone else is going to come in quickly.

"I think it is going to cause hardship for some people and I think the timing is very bad."

Coun Jones said she regularly used shops in the town centre instead of out-of-town stores to try to support them. She said the store had been popular with elderly customers who found it difficult to get round larger out-of-town outlets.

She said: "There has always been the fear that out-of-town stores have an impact. If we don't look after our town centre and use the stores we all lose in the long term.

"It's a very sad day. I hate it when we lose our stores and I do feel very strongly. Most of us want to see the shopping centre improved but what we don't need is more charity shops or food retailers."

Chris Goldfinch, manager of the town's Market Place Shopping Centre, was disappointed the store was closing.

He said: "In the short term it is bad news. It isn't a good time for it to close that close to Christmas.

"It is sad to see because it has been there a long time but hopefully the staff will be re-employed elsewhere and something will take its place."