Pets at Home has announced it will no longer open a store at a new retail park in Skegness, Lincolnshire, this month despite recruiting and training staff.

According to the Lincolnshire Live website, the pet retail chain announced yesterday (Wednesday) it had abandoned plans to open the new store.

People had applied, been offered jobs and had training before being told they were no longer needed at the store.

Several confused people took to Facebook to ask the pet chain what was happening.

A Pets at Home spokesperson responded to say: “Just to keep you in the loop, at a recent review of our store opening plans we decided, with regret, not to progress with our plan to open a store in Skegness.

“We keep our opening plans under regular review as store openings can take some time to come to fruition and both the retail environment and the property market can be volatile.

“We appreciate that this will be disappointing to customers who were looking forward to a new store and apologise for the change in our plans.

“All colleagues recruited to work in Skegness will continue their training with us before taking up alternative positions in one of our nearby stores.

“Again, my apologies for the change of plans and for the disappointment this will cause. Please let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.”

The full report can be read by clicking here.