Carlisle's branch of Ed's Easy Diner has closed with immediate effect.

It is one of 26 which has shut its doors across the UK after the brand was bought out by the restaurant arm of food mogul Ranjit Boparan, owner of the 2 Sisters Food Group which includes ready meal firm Cavaghan & Gray, based in Durranhill, Carlisle.

Giraffe Concepts, owned by Boparan Restaurant Holdings, announced the closure of about half of the Ed’s Easy Diner locations across the UK, including the branch in The Lanes, today.

About 15 jobs have gone in the closure of the Carlisle branch.

One former member of staff told the News & Star: "We went in today and everything was just shut down, it was just a case of come in and grab your stuff and then you were gone.

"I am disappointed that we did not know anything about it really. There were a lot of staff there who had been there since day one and we were like a family, we all went out together and nobody hated each other, we were all good friends.
"It is just a big blow to everyone really, especially this close to Christmas."

He added that the restaurant had been extremely busy following last week's opening of Primark and estimated there were "14 or 15" members of staff working at the diner. The former member of staff also said people were waiting to hear full details of redundancy arrangements.

"There were a lot of tears this morning from a lot of members of staff," he said.

Ed’s Easy Diner was a 99-seater restaurant, decorated in a 1950s style, which opened in September 2014.

It replaced the former Cafe M and, controversially, ousted The Lanes' award-winning toilets.

Heather Bradley, Carlisle City Council's economy, enterprise and housing portfolio holder, said: "I am particularly sad to see it close when we hae seen the opening of Primark and we know that that opening was very successful for other businesses in Carlisle. The really big concern is for anyody that was working there because it is never easy to lose your job."

Rob Croxen, partner at administrator KPMG, said: “Our immediate priority in the coming days will be to liaise with those employees who have been affected by redundancy and ensure that in addition to receiving all back pay owed, they are provided with any assistance they need.”