The Parker Knoll furniture factory in Chipping Norton will close by the end of the year with the loss of 250 jobs.

The factory, part of the Silentnight furniture and bedding group, will close by December 31 on a phased basis, with the loss of 250 jobs.

About 140 of the affected employees live in the Chipping Norton area. The firm's cabinet making plant at Edmonton, London, will also close.

Silentnight's managing director Mary Czulowski said: "Extensive research, analysis and review has been carried out during the past 12 months and the clear conclusion is that it is no longer viable to manufacture labour-intensive products in this country.

"We greatly regret the loss of these jobs. We have explored every possible option and we have no other alternative."

Last year, 220 staff were made redundant at Parker Knoll. The company applied for planning permission to build housing and light industrial units at its 14-acre site in London Road.

The leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, Barry Norton, said: "The council is extremely disappointed that Parker Knoll has decided to move abroad and lose the remaining 250 jobs.

"We're currently dealing with the planning application for the site and under our local planning policies we do seek to retain employment sites for further employment where we can.

"We also feel their decision may be somewhat short-sighted as the Chipping Norton workforce is very skilled and those skills will not be available if they relocate abroad."