Some 366 people will lose their jobs in the next few days in the first wave of store closures at collapsed retailer Clinton Cards, administrators said today but so far stores in Norfolk and Suffolk have been spared the axe.

The group, the UK's biggest specialist cards retailer, collapsed into administration earlier this month after failing to find a buyer for all or parts of the business.

The first 44 stores out of some 350 lined up for closure will shut before the end of May, administrator Zolfo Cooper said, including 25 Birthdays and 19 Clinton Cards stores.

In addition. there will be 66 redundancies at the company's head office in Loughton, Essex.

Clinton Cards has stores in Norwich, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn, Lowestoft, Diss, Thetford and Wisbech.

Further store closures across the remaining Birthdays estate and certain Clinton Cards traded stores are expected in the coming weeks, although Zolfo emphasised there was no further information at this time.