WORKERS across the region were last night wondering if their jobs were safe after Littlewoods announced plans to close 126 of its Index catalogue stores.

The remaining 33 stores will be sold to rival Argos for £44m under the plan, which could cost up to 3,200 jobs around the UK.

There are at least ten stores throughout the North-East and North Yorkshire including branches in Darlington, Middlesbrough, Gateshead and Harrogate.

But the locations of the stores expected to close will not be revealed until today when all staff have been informed.

Littlewoods, which is owned by the Barclay brothers, said it had run out of patience with the chain, which it pointed out had racked up losses in almost every year of its 20-year history, amounting to more than £100m in total.

Shopworkers' union Usdaw said the news had come out of the blue and workers would be devastated by the job losses.

It called for a meeting with the Liverpool-based company in order to review the business case.

Littlewoods said at least 350 jobs at a distribution centre in Moxley, in the West Midlands, and 170 posts at the Liverpool head office were likely to be affected.

Half of the 66 stand-alone Index stores will shut within six months, with the rest sold to Argos owner GUS. It plans to convert them to its own brand, taking 800 out of 4,000 Index staff in the process.

A further 93 Index stores, which trade within existing Littlewoods sites, will close, with the space being retained by group.

Yesterday's news is the latest blow in the retail sector, following the demise of the department store chain Allders and the 65-outlet Gadget Shop chain.

Index was acquired by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay in 2002 as part of a £750m deal to buy the Littlewoods Group from the Moores family.

The closure of the in-store Index sites will increase speculation that the Barclay brothers are also close to agreeing the sale of the Littlewoods stores chain.

Primark, the discount clothing retailer owned by Associated British Foods, is thought to be favourite to land the shops.