“IT WAS my first job after leaving school and I found it quite strange at first - but I must have soon got used to it because I’ve stayed here the past 44 years!”

Delyth Thomas, Woolworths’ longest-serving Ammanford employee - and almost certainly their longest-serving worker in Wales - was recalling her first days in the Quay Street store in the summer of 1964 at the height of Beatlemania.

“Most of us were of the same age and we all used to go out socialising together,” she said. “We’ve been a team right to the end. When the young ones joined Woolies we became like mums to them!”

Delyth, of Penybanc, was speaking on the final day of trading at the Ammanford store, one of the last Woolworths in Wales to shut its doors when it finally closed yesterday. (Tuesday) Delyth and her 21 colleagues are losing their jobs after administrators for the stricken High Street chain failed to find a buyer.

The last few weeks have sparked a shopping frenzy as the Ammanford store has sought to sell off all its stock.

“We’ve never worked so hard,” said Ann Walters, of Capel Hendre, who has clocked up 36 years with Woolies, “and I really think Ammanford’s going to miss us.”

Catching a swift breather next to her, Jan Payne, of Tycroes, reflected on a frantic past few weeks.

“It’s been a tough slog,” she admitted, “but we never really thought we’d close ’til the announcement came just before Christmas.”

The store manager - who declined to give his name - paid tribute to hard-working staff who toiled on throughout the festive period in the near-certain knowledge they would ultimately lose their jobs.

“Not one of them took sickness leave,” he said.

“It’s pulled them together as a team. I won’t say it’s bonded them because they’ve always been a tight-knit crowd.

“The morale has remained very good and we’ve managed to have a laugh and a joke even though there’ve occasionally been times we might have felt like counting to ten and walking away.

“This staff have been together for a long time while a fresh team might have fallen apart over the last few weeks.”

By Monday afternoon Woolies’ shelves had almost been stripped bare as shoppers continued to snap up last-minute bargains.

While the staff’s spirits seemed surprisingly upbeat, among shoppers there was a palpable air of sadness.

“I’m really sorry to see Woolies go,” said Barbara Brabant, of Tycroes.

“My first job was in Woolies up in Liverpool and Ammanford just won’t seem the same without it.”

Her views were echoed by Ann Walters, who spoke of her concern for the future of Ammanford town centre.

“It’s going to be a big loss,” she said. “I really hope something worthwhile takes over here. If not, it could kill Ammanford.”

Fellow worker Carol Morgan, of Brynaman, remembered with pride how the Ammanford store remained open despite some horrendous falls of snow.

“Staff walked in from Gorslas and Capel Hendre and they sent a 4 x 4 to pick us up from Brynaman,” she laughed. “We always made it into work - Woolies never shut.”

Joy Davies, of Tirydail, a linchpin of the Quay Street store for 24 years, drew a laugh from colleagues as she recalled overhearing a young shopper tell his mum: “Abercrave can’t be any good because they don’t have a Woolies up there!”

Delyth Thomas spoke for her colleagues when she described the last few weeks as “surreal”.

“Everything will have gone in a few hours, even the fixtures,” she said. “We may have a stall down the market Friday morning!”

Inevitably, talk turned to whether Woolworths could have been saved. Could it have been prevented from going out of fashion?

“In large cities it was seen as out of date,” agreed Ann, “but Ammanford people have always supported this store and we’d really like to thank them for supporting the Kid’s First charity over the years.

“If we had stayed the way we were and catered for everyday people, old and young, it would never have come to this.

“We should have stuck with pick’n mix instead of all these sugary sweets we have now.”

Someone else chips in: “Wilkinson are now selling what we sold before and will local kids now trudge over to Tesco to get their CDs? I don’t think so.”

The last word went to Delyth Thomas who you get the feeling has worn her red Woolies uniform with pride ever since that first day back in 1964.

“Things have been absolutely mad these last few weeks,” she reflected, “but one customer said: ‘where were all these people when you really needed them?’”