Restore needed but iTunes won't recognise phone

Hi all
I've had a problem with my iPhone powering while fully charged. I cannot turn it back on until I plug it in. Two days ago this happened, when I plugged it into the wall it gave me a message
"Restore needed. iPhones cannot make or receive calls. Backup from iTunes. www.apple.com/support"
When plugged into the wall, the phone can turn on, shows 100% battery charge and apps can be used. However there is no network coverage. While plugged in it keeps cycling through: i) screen turning off, ii) requesting passcode, iii) displaying the message above.
As soon as i unplug it from the wall it switches off. If I plug it into a computer (either my laptop or desktop), it was showing the low battery image and the device isn't recognised in iTunes. However it doesn't even show this now.
I've tried resetting the iPhone by holding down sleep/wake and home buttons but this does nothing. I've tried google and kept getting official support pages. Finally came across omulatlantic's post which was the first mention of anything similar to my problem.
Is there a way to restore this, or should I give up and reset it in settings? Would the photos/videos from camera roll be reinstated when I restore from backup (as these are the only things I really need to get back)?
Thanks in advance.

Any ideas how I can get the photos off this thing? The network connections/wifi/bluetooth don't work. I can see the photos when the phone is plugged into the wall and turned on, but when it isn't plugged in it just switches off.
Is there any other way to reset it other than the method I mentioned in my first post? Or some way to force iTunes or my computer to recognise it so I can transfer content off it?

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