Kent staff at failed mobile phone retailer Phones 4u face an uncertain future as administrators PwC confirm the closure of 362 shops.

Almost 1,700 jobs will be lost nationwide with many towns in Kent feeling the impact.

There are 16 Phones 4u shops in the county which have been closed for the last week since the firm went into administration.

Phones 4u branches in Kent include Ashford, Bluewater, Canterbury, Chatham, Dartford, Dover, Folkestone, Gillingham, Gravesend, Hempstead Valley, Maidstone, Ramsgate, Sevenoaks, Sittingbourne, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

Some of Phones 4u 700 stores have been taken over by other retailers.

Mobile phone provider Vodafone is taking over 140 shops and competitor EE will take on 58 more, saving at least 359 jobs.

It is not yet clear whether these include any in Kent.

Rob Hunt, joint administrator and PwC partner, said: “It is with much regret that we have today made the difficult decision to close a large number of stores.

"It is a very sad day for the staff working at those locations and our thoughts are with them.

"We will make every effort to help the affected staff, working with the Phones 4u HR team over the coming days to support employees."

Phones 4u bosses last week blamed the collapse of the company on mobile network EE’s decision not to renew its contract, following a similar move from Vodaphone earlier this month.

Phones 4u said it was a healthy business, but cannot function without mobile network suppliers.

The Phones 4u website has been taken offline and replaced with a message to customers illustrated with a sad face.

It was signed off: “Thank you for your custom. The heartbroken Phones4u team.”

Phones 4u was set up by entrepreneur John Caudwell in the middle of the 1980s and sold for £1.5bn some 20 years later.

It is now owned by private equity firm BC Partners.