UPDATE: 5.08pm

Gwent job losses from the closure of Phones 4U will total 29 it was revealed this afternoon.

The five Gwent shops closing will see 19 jobs go immediately, with 10 staff staying on to oversee the closure of the stores, but who will also be made redundant.

The breakdown of losses in Gwent is as follows:

Abergavenny store - Two job losses now with two staying on Newport, Commercial Street - Six job losses now with two staying on Newport, Spytty Retail Park - Four job losses now with two staying on Cwmbran - Five job losses now with two staying on Monmouth - Two job losses now with two staying on

The Blackwood store has been taken over by EE and is "expected to be open again within a week".

UPDATE: 2.00pm

FIVE Gwent branches of the collapsed retail chain Phones 4u are set to close, its administrators announced today.

Shops on High Street, Abergavenny; Commercial Street and Newport Retail Park in Newport; South Walk, Cwmbran; and Monnow Street in Monmouth are set to go, while Phones 4u on Blackwood's High Street will be turned into an EE shop.

It is not yet clear how many jobs in Gwent will be affected.

Phones 4u had an annual turnover of £1 billion with 5,596 employees, but went into administration after the two major mobile operators decided not to renew their contracts.

Staff had been asked to stay at home while talks took place.

In total 140 former Phones 4u stores are going to Vodafone and 58 are being bought by EE, but 362 shops will close completely and 1,679 staff being made redundant.

A separate 720 staff are staying on to help with the wind-down, according to administrators PwC.

None of Gwent's Phones 4u shops will be bought by Vodafone.

A spokeswoman for EE told the Argus yesterday that the employees will be transferred to them with immediate effect and stores will be re-branded, with most planning to re-open in the next week.

Last week nearly 900 jobs were saved nationwide when Vodafone struck a deal to buy 140 of the shops, while EE has offered to buy a further 58 shops for £2.5 million and protect 359 jobs.

Dixons Carphone said on Wednesday it would take on 800 staff who worked at 160 Phones 4u outlets inside Currys and PC World stores.

PwC partner Rob Hunt said their thoughts are with affected employees at this “difficult time”.

He said: “We will make every effort to help the affected staff, working with the Phones 4u human resources team over the coming days to support employees.”

Referring to EE’s purchase, he said: “As with the Vodafone transaction, we consider that this represents the best potential outcome for creditors in the circumstances, although it remains subject to the approval of the UK courts.”