Morrisons will cut 30 of its in-store florist stations as it looks to slim down costs.

The supermarket chain, which doubled its number of in-store florist branches during the lockdown, said the service in some locations was no longer commercially viable.

The Grocer reported that impacted stores will now have their flower bouquets supplied by a centralised service in the Midlands.

Morrisons said the sales had dried up in many stores since the pandemic and had also been impacted by the rising cost of living.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "Following a detailed review of our florist offer we have made the decision to close 26 florists that are not commercially viable.

"In these stores, we will launch a new range of hand-tied bouquets for customers created at our Flowerworld site in Derby.

"We will continue to offer customers a florist service in over 160 stores. We will offer all affected colleagues alternate roles should they wish to stay at Morrisons."

The supermarket chain added it would still have 160 in-store florists nationwide and any staff impacted would be offered to transfer elsewhere in the business.

The move comes as the grocer targets £700m in cost savings over the next three years to help improve performance across the business.