LADBROKES and Gala Coral, which have 12 shops between them in Barrow, Walney and Millom, are set to offload 359 betting shops in an attempt to allay competition concerns.

The deal will see rival Betfred shell out £55 million for 322 high street outlets and Stan James pay £500,000 for 37.

Ladbrokes has shops in Barrow and Millom while Coral has 10 across Barrow and Walney following its buyout of the Chas Kendall firm in 2011.

The Chas Kendall group had its headquarters in Cavendish Street, one of 10 Barrow shops, which employed runners until betting was legalised in 1961.

The chain includes three betting shops in southern Scotland, two in Carlisle, four in Whitehaven and branches at Dalton, Millom, Kendal, Ulverston, Workington, Egremont, Cockermouth, Maryport, Bowness and Windermere. Over the years Chas Kendall has been at the heart of local sporting events and has even brought national celebrities to the streets of Barrow.

The move to divest 359 Coral and Ladbrokes shops follows an assessment by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which found that the deal could "lead to a worsening of the offer made to customers at both a local and national level" in the gambling market.

Following the divestment, the CMA will now decide whether to rubber-stamp the deal, which would create the country's biggest bookmaker with around 4,000 betting shops.

Ladbrokes boss Jim Mullen said: "The sale of these shops will clear the last significant hurdle to delivering on the merger with Coral and paves the way for our focus on completion and quickly delivering on the opportunities the merger offers."