MORE changes are in store for Winchester High Street after another chain closed last week.

Camera shop Jessops announced it was going into administration on Wednesday, January 9, with all 187 stores across the country closing.

It means the loss of four jobs in Winchester, along with nine in Southampton, six in Basingstoke and three in Andover, part of 1,370 jobs gone nationwide.

A member of staff at the Winchester High Street branch said he was ‘not allowed’ to speak to the press but that the shop was open until Tuesday, January 15, for customers to collect pre-paid photos.

A sign at the front of the shop says “Cheers Winchester, and thanks for all the fish,” – a reference to Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Edward Williams, Rob Hunt and Matthew Hammond of PwC have been appointed joint administrators of Jessops.

Mr Hunt said: “We have reviewed the position of the business and held extensive discussions with suppliers around their support for ongoing trading.

“It is apparent that we cannot continue to trade and as a result we have had to make the difficult decision to begin the closure of all 187 Jessops stores.

“This is an extremely sad day for Jessops and its employees. We are very grateful for the support we have received since our appointment and we will continue to ensure that employees are paid as they assist us during the closure.”

Stock was collected over the past week and returned to suppliers where possible. Jessops is not accepting any returned products from customers.