WORKERS at Kidderminster's British Sugar factory have been dealt a bitter blow with the announcement it is to close.

More than 50 jobs will go as the Stourport Road operation is relocated to Allscott, near Shrewsbury, in 2002.

The 52 full-time staff will be offered new jobs at the new site in Shropshire but the closure could affect dozens of seasonal workers.

Geoff Lancaster, head of communications at British Sugar, said the plant, which was opened in 1925, would close in February 2002, but would continue to despatch silo products until September.

"We'll be investing in our sister site at Allscott and building up the capacity of that plant and it will process the whole of the West Midland's sugar beet crop," he said.

"Obviously staff were shocked at the announcement but they have until December to decide what to do."

Wyre Forest MP David Lock expressed his disappointment at the decision.

The future of the site has not been decided but a small parcel of the land is due to be bought by Severn Waste for a new £40m incinerator.