THE company that ran the food mall at Intu Lakeside's new Plaza leisure extension have broken their silence about the circumstances which saw the venue unexpectedly closed on 19 December.

A spokesperson for Market Halls said: "It is with deep regret that we announce the closure of The Hall's first and only outlet - The Hall, intu Lakeside.

"We were very excited about the promise of the expansion plans of intu Lakeside but due to a variety of reasons, including delays to the opening of other key tenants, we never saw the levels of footfall required to sustain a business of our nature.

"There is, of course, no ideal time to close a business but due to the site's trading levels, it was sadly unviable to keep open over the Christmas period. All of the staff were correctly informed and consulted on a one to one basis about the closure and offered positions within the business.

"The management team and over 50 per cent of the staff are coming to work within other areas of the business in central London. Understandably, the commute was too much for some. The team were paid salaries owed, holidays and an extra notice amount."

intu Lakeside has remained tight-lipped about the closure and what might happen to the site but say they will comment when appropriate.

Meanwhile some of the staff who worked at the Hall, from Thurrock, have been telling of their shock and the problems sudden unemployment brought on the brink of Christmas.

Speaking to Essex Live Rebecca Clarke, 21, from Chadwell St Mary, said: "No one wants to hire in January. I have literally applied to everything.

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"If I had warning I could have had something in place I have got bills to pay. I don't really get upset, there's no point I just get angry - I was on a rampage."

Jack Kenworthy, 29, from Stanford-le-Hope, was a full-time manager at Funghi Pizza and said: "We literally got told on the Thursday (December 19) - I heard something from one of the other traders and when I questioned my boss they said don't worry.

"Then he came back to me an hour later and he said I'm so sorry they are shutting this Saturday.

"When I found out I then called everyone around and said we all have no jobs."