A statement on the company’s website reads: ‘GE branded cameras and ipico projectors are no longer on general sale in the UK although they continue to be sold in the USA.’

UK photo trade magazine Pixel reports that General Imaging Europe has stated that it ‘will cease trading and GE branded cameras will no longer be supplied directly into the European market’.

A few weeks ago, when contacted by AP, a spokesman for General Imaging denied an industry rumour suggesting that GE may have stopped making digital cameras.

The company focuses on consumer-level compact digital cameras, a market badly hit by the smartphone camera revolution.

A spokesman for General Imaging, which is based in Buckinghamshire, could not be reached for comment at the time of writing.

Anyone with technical queries about a GE camera that is still within warranty is asked to call JPSS Ltd on 01782 753326.

NEWS UPDATE 3 September: WHAT WENT WRONG?