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A chemical company in Beverley in East Yorkshire is to be shut, its Swiss owners have announced.

Clariant says its site in Chantry Lane will be wound down over the next 18 months.

It will shift 24 jobs to its plant in Selby, North Yorkshire, but 120 workers will be made redundant in Beverley.

The company blames competition from abroad which is driving down the prices of its products. Around 125 people are currently employed in Selby.

The closure will be a major blow to Beverley where Clariant is one of the town's biggest manufacturing employers.

The site was originally Hodgson's Tannery which set up business in 1812.

A pigments factory near Cologne in Germany, owned by Clariant, is also to shut by the end of 2005 with the loss of 71 jobs.