CRUNCH time has come for a popular crisp maker which may have had its chips.

Golden Wonder, the snack-maker which has kept childrens' pack-lunch boxes and office vending-machines stocked for generations, has gone into administration.

The company, which began in 1895, has brands including Golden Skins, Nik-Naks, Wheat Crunchies and Ringos.

Golden Wonder also makes Pringles Minis and many own-label crisps and snacks for leading supermarkets and grocery stores.

But despite its well-known name and line of snacks, it has suffered a drop in sales in a fiercely competitive marketplace dominated by Walkers.

The administrators are now reviewing over 60 offers of interest after the business and assets were advertised for sale on January 12.

The news could signal the end of a legacy for millions of people who have grown up and munched their way through countless packets of potato crisps.

Harish Patel, who has run Jaydees News on Marlow Road, High Wycombe, for six years, said kids would feel the bite if the well known crisps disappeared. He added: "30 per cent of my sales are from Golden Wonder products. And the school-kids prefer the Wheat Crunchies and Nik-Naks. And there will be no other competition to Walkers either."

But in the long-term, it may make good news for junk-food addicts.

New scientific evidence published this week by food campaigners Sustain and the Mental Health Foundation indicates that changes to our diet in the last 50 years could be an important factor behind the major rise of mental ill-health in the UK.

Dr Andrew McCulloch, the foundation's chief executive, said: "We are well aware of the effect of diet upon our physical health, but we are only just beginning to understand how the brain, as an organ, is influenced by the nutrients it gets from the foods we eat, and how our diets have an impact on our mental health."

In the UK, the average person consumes 12lb (5.5kg) of crisps or similar snack foods annually. This country is topped only by Americans, who eat an average of 14lb crisps per person.

In a distant third place comes the Netherlands who snack on half that about 7lbs each per year.