Council Leader David Baines says: “The collapse of Ena Shaw is a sad day for the borough. They’re a family-run, independent business who for nearly 90 years have been synonymous with St Helens.

My thoughts are with the staff who are now out of work.

I’ve instructed Council officers to do all we can to offer support and advice to those made redundant, and in the coming weeks we’ll be working closely with partners including the Liverpool City Region, St Helens Chamber, and Citizens Advice Bureau to coordinate that support and reach those affected.”

St Helens South and Whiston MP Marie Rimmer says: “As a personal supporter of Ena Shaw, I am very sad that it has come to this. It’s a huge shame for local economy, but most importantly for the workers that the decision to enter administration has been taken.

The administrators have promised to work with staff at the Job Centre to get redundancy payments sorted, but this needs to be as quickly and smoothly as possible.

I will be keeping an eye on things to make sure former employees get what they are owed.”