A fruit and vegetable retailer has gone into liquidation with the loss of about 110 jobs.

Bookless, which is based in Gateshead, called in liquidators after its contract with discount supermarket chain Kwik Save was cancelled.

A total of 50 shop staff and a further 60 head office workers were made redundant.

Bookless ran fruit and vegetable concessions in 40 Kwik Save stores across the North-East. It also had 14 stand-alone stores.

The end of the Kwik Save contract resulted in a 70 per cent fall in turnover for the retailer, which has been trading in the region for 44-years.

Accountants Deloitte and Touche said there was little chance of the business being saved.

It said that even the stand-alone stores could not continue trading because the Kwik Save contract represented such a major part of the business.

Kwik Save said the decision to change to a new supplier was prompted by a need to improve the quality and value of its fresh food.

* Shopworker's union Usdaw said Kwik Save was under a "moral obligation" to ensure up to 100 workers transferred from Bookless received their final week's wages.

The workers, who were employed by Bookless but worked in Kwik Save stores until this week, have been kept on by the company that has taken over the contract.

However, Usdaw said the former Bookless workers had been told they would not be paid for their final week's work.

George Cain, area organiser for USDAW, said though it was under no legal obligation, Kwik Save had a moral responsibility to ensure the workers were paid.

He said: "These staff are working in Kwik Save stores and the revenues they generate go directly into its tills. It should make sure they do not miss out."

Mr Cain also criticised Kwik Save's decision to end the contract and called on the liquidators to ensure workers received information on making claims to the Government for redundancy payments.

A Kwik Save spokeswoman said that the employees' final weeks' wages were the responsibility of Bookless.