More job losses across the region along with plummeting city share prices heralded a bleak start to October despite Chancellor Alistair Darling's plans to save Britain from the credit crunch.

Focus DIY blamed the difficult economic climate for the loss of 90 jobs as its Bristol distribution centre is to close.

The job losses formed part of 750 cuts nationwide as the company launched a money-saving programme.

A spokesman for Focus said the company had not decided where the remainder of the cuts would be, but they would be spread across its 181 stores and support centres and distribution sites, one of which was at Avonmouth, near Bristol.

It is expected the work being carried out at Avonmouth will be absorbed by the company's national distribution base at Tamworth, Staffordshire.

Yesterday more than £93 billion was wiped from the value of the UK's biggest companies as London's FTSE 100 took a pounding to suffer its biggest fall since Black Monday in October 1987.

The index closed 391.1 points lower at 4589.2, its lowest close total since October 2004.

Meanwhile, Alistair Darling offered a sharp warning to European leaders not to risk worsening the economic crisis by taking unilateral action to protect their own banks and depositors.

In the wake of the plummeting global markets, Mr Darling told the Commons it was essential EU governments acted in a co-ordinated fashion if they were to avoid simply passing on problems to other member states.

His intervention came after the German, Danish and Greek governments became the latest countries to guarantee all depositors that their savings would be fully protected in the event of a bank collapse.

Following a similar move last week by the Irish government, it intensified pressure on the authorities in the UK, where deposits of up to £50,000 will be guaranteed from today, to follow suit.

But lack of firm proposals for banks did little to restore shattered confidence.