Arla Foods UK said it had to cut milk production

Arla Foods UK announced in April it was closing the plant due to a need to reduce its milk production.

The closure has since been brought forward from July, despite the company saying the plant is efficient.

Workers said the closure of the plant, which moved to Bamber Bridge, near Preston in 1994, will have a "big impact" on people in the area.

Before that the dairy, its latest incarnation formed by the merger of Express Dairies and Arla UK, had been operating on the site, near Preston, since 1942.

'Downbeat spirit'

Robert Brewer, 21, who is being made redundant, said: "There's some guys [in the plant] with three or four children to support and they will probably will struggle to find a job that pays the same amount of money.

"It's going to affect everybody. They do live in Bamber Bridge most of the guys that work there and it brings money into the community as well.

"Everybody's a bit downbeat about it, so it's community sprit as well."