The plant at Widnes in Cheshire will shut down in April.

Crisp production will be transferred to the company's factories at Scunthorpe and Corby.

In a statement, the company said: "Given current and anticipated market conditions it is not commercially viable to continue manufacturing from three separate locations."

Crisps less popular

The company said that the move came because demand for traditional potato crisps is falling.

Jobs are going in crisp making

It said the other sites, which had recently received �30m in new investment, were more productive and could also produce a variety of more popular snack products.

"The Widnes site only produces crisps and does not have expertise in producing other snacks, while Corby and Scunthorpe make both crisps and snacks," explained Clive Sharpe, chief executive of Golden Wonder.

Just a week ago KP Crisps closed its Billington, Teeside factory with the loss of 250 jobs, citing a change in consumer tastes.

Long history

Golden Wonder is one of the original crisp manufacturers in the UK. It was founded by Scottish baker William Alexander in 1947 and was the first UK company to add flavours to crisps, starting with cheese and onion in 1962.

The company was owned by Dalgety but purchased for �55m by a management buyout team in 1995. It also manufacturers Ringos, Cheesie Wotsits, and Jungle Fresh Peanuts.

But in recent years it has been losing market share to other crisp makers with bigger advertising budgets, like Walkers, whose recent TV commercials starring football star, Gary Lineker have proved a hit with consumers.

Pringles (made by US conglomerate Procter and Gamble) and KP's Hula Hoops are now among the leading snack brands in the UK.