SHOPPERS and staff who at a major Tesco store in Thurrock and a similar one at Pitsea just beyond the borough boundary, have been told they will not be affected by the company's decision to close down some of its bakeries and reduce operations at others.

More than 1,800 jobs are at risk nationwide at Tesco, after the retailer said had to adapt to changing consumer tastes.

The supermarket chain said it would do less baking from scratch in stores from May onwards, and would require fewer bakery staff as a result. Tesco said customers were buying fewer traditional loaves of bread, and are increasingly choosing options such as wraps, bagels and flatbreads instead.

Jason Tarry, the chief executive of Tesco's UK and Irish business, said: "We need to adapt to changing customer demand and tastes for bakery products so that we continue to offer customers a market-leading bakery range in store."

However, a spokesperson for the company says that the Thurrock store at Lakeside and the one at Pitsea will not be affected.