CAR parts supplier Unipart Automotive - which has a branch in Bournemouth - has gone into administration with a loss of more than 1,200 jobs.

The firm, the largest of its type in the UK, was said to have been experiencing years of "financial stress".

While 33 out of 180 branches and distribution centres have been sold to competitors Andrew Page and The Parts Alliance - saving 361 jobs - a buyer was not found for the firm as a whole.

Administrator KPMG said the remainder of the business has ceased to trade and 1,244 staff have been made redundant.

Both the Bournemouth branch - in the West Howe Industrial Estate - and the Weymouth branch were excluded from the sale and have closed.

KPMG partner Mark Orton said: "Unfortunately, the business had been experiencing financial stress for a number of years, so the level of cash and further operational restructuring required to rescue a more substantial part of the business posed too much risk for most interested parties."

Based in Solihull, the company operated 80 branches and distribution hubs trading as Unipart Automotive, Partco Autoparts, and Express Factors.