STUNNED workers were left in tears last night after the shock announcement that another major County Durham employer is to close its factory.

News that waxed jacket makers J Barbour and Sons Limited is to shut its plant in Crook - which employs 87 - came as a bolt from the blue.

The area is already reeling from 950 job losses at Black and Decker in Spennymoor and the closure of Lafarge UK's cement works in Weardale which employed 150 people.

Emergency talks are due to begin on Tuesday between Barbour management and officials from the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU).

Joe Keith, the TGWU's regional industrial organiser, said last night: "This came as a complete shock. The first thing the workers knew was at 11am when they were told that the board of directors had unanimously voted to close the factory."

The company is to move production from the Crook site to its headquarters at South Shields.

Managing director Steve Buck said: "The lease on our premises at Crook has expired and it makes economic sense to concentrate waxed jacket manufacture at one location."

He said that all 87 workers would be offered the chance to move to the South Shields site, but those who chose to leave would be get enhanced redundancy terms.