Karen Holden, senior leader at the Worksop job centre, said: “People were coming in, in tears, they were coming in the day they’d lost their jobs.

“They still had their uniform on with signatures and things on their hi-vis vests like when someone had left school.”

She added that the people who worked for Wilko were used to “saying ‘hello’ to at least 600 people a day”, so she and her team decided to deliver support and coaching sessions in groups.

Thanks to their help, Ms Kelly now works at Bassetlaw hospital with other, former Wilko colleagues.

She said: “There are a few of us who have come [to work for the hospital] together, and we still talk about [Wilko].”

According to the job centre, only about 20 people of the 2,000-strong former workforce are still looking for jobs.