The chief executive of Mothercare has left the company, as it warns that first quarter losses will be greater than expected.

Chris Martin has left the company and finance director Mark McMenemy will take on his esponsibilities until a successor is found.

The company's like-for-like sales fell 3.1% in the 14 weeks to 12 July, while gross margins fell 0.5%.

In the first quarter of the year, the company posted a loss of �5.4m, compared with a profit of �2.3m the previous year, and it expects the rest of the first half to be loss making.

However, the company says that sales should improve in the second half of the year and its profits should be helped by falling distribution costs.