A dale was last night reeling from the news that one of its biggest employers is to shut down.

Lafarge, the world's biggest cement company, dealt a shattering blow to the economy of Weardale, in County Durham, by announcing that its 40-year-old Blue Circle operation at Eastgate is to close in six months with the loss of 147 jobs.

The decision, blamed on surplus production capacity, was greeted with stunned silence by workers called to a 9am meeting with bosses.

The news sent shock waves through a rural community hit hard by last year's foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Built in the early 1960s, the cement plant has provided security for hundreds of families and community leaders fear the knock-on effect will be catastrophic.

Some staff will be offered jobs elsewhere in the company, but many said yesterday they were reluctant to move.

GMB Union representative Billy Wilthew, 62, said workers were shattered by the announcement.

"We are totally gutted," he said. "I have been here all my working life and my son works here. We can't take it in."

But the company said unions had been warned since 1998 that Weardale's future had been under review and that investment was being concentrated on plants in the Midlands and Scotland.

Weardale workers had hoped that a record of rising profits - £11m last year, up on £9m in 2000 - would save their jobs.

Laboratory technician Les Carden, 53, from Stanhope, said: "We feel badly let down. We have done everything the company asked. We have always been told that if we were in profit we had a chance.

"We have passed our target, we have cut costs to the bone and we have worked round the clock."

Company chiefs yesterday praised the high quality of the plant's staff and pledged to help them find alternative work and training.

Rob Davies, Blue Circle's UK operations director, said the decision was not affected by the company's takeover by Paris-based Lafarge in the summer of last year.

"The factory is a profitable factory, however, we still have surplus capacity in the UK," he said.

"We appreciate that this is going to have a significant impact on Weardale and haven't rushed into the decision that has devastated 147 families today."

Olive Brown, leader of Wear Valley District Council, hopes a task force to tackle the economic vacuum threatened by the closure will meet in the next few days.

She said: "It is a very black day for Weardale. We will do everything in our power to bring new jobs and investment.

Hilary Armstrong, MP for North West Durham and Government Chief Whip, said: "This is a very serious blow for Weardale. I am concerned for the workforce at Blue Circle, but my main concern in the longer term is for the economy of the dale as a whole."

Valley of despond - Page 3