BIRKENHEAD'S House of Fraser store has been spared the axe once again after a meeting between Frank Field and Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley.

Staff at the Grange Road West branch had been given a closing date of September 27 but Mr Field confirmed today (Tuesday, August 6) that the store had indeed been saved.

The meeting came following an 'urgent' request from Mr Field to "exhaust all potential options" to keep the store open.

Taking place this week, the pair had talked through a range of options which resulted in Mr Ashley confirming that the store will immediately be restocked and, working with the landlord, hopefully kept open for several years.

Mr Field told the Globe: "I met Mike Ashley this week to try and find a way of safeguarding the immediate future of Birkenhead’s House of Fraser.

"I’m really pleased that we have succeeded on this front.

"During our meeting, he pointed out how crippling the current system of transitional relief on business rates can be for household names on the high street – not only in Birkenhead, but across the country.

"If you’re struggling as a business, the system seems to clobber you. Clearly this raises broader questions about the future of the high street.

"I’m therefore seeking a meeting with the Local Government Secretary, to see if he will review this system."

Last year creditors had voted to shut Birkenhead's House of Fraser.

But after a campaign from Mr Field and a takeover by Mr Ashley, the store appeared to have been saved and its future supposedly secured.