COUNCIL officials have met with British American Tobacco (BAT) to discuss the closure of its plant in the North-East that could cost thousands of jobs.

Yesterday, Darlington Borough Council met with the company to express concern over the wider impact, and loss of all 490 jobs, on the area.

Councillor John Williams, leader of the council, said: "We had a useful meeting with senior managers from BAT.

"We stressed our deep concerns about the future of their workforce in Darlington, and also our worries about the potential effects of the plant closure on the wider Darlington economy.

"We plan to have an ongoing dialogue with the company on these issues."

The council has joined with agencies in the region to form a contingency group to look at issues surrounding the closure and how to minimise the impact.

Coun Williams said, "It is vital that we have a clear picture as to the exact situation we face. If the closure is implemented, then it is a major blow to Darlington and the regional economy.

"We need to do all we can to ensure that we to deal with this extremely difficult situation."

The plant is set to stop production next June and close by the end of 2004.