The managing director of a booming Oxfordshire quarry has revealed the firm is suffering a staffing crisis.

Martin Robins says his Farmington Quarry, near Witney, is taking orders from around the world but he cannot find enough workers to meet the demand.

He wants up to 30 more to join his 100-strong workforce but with virtually full employment in West Oxfordshire, he says he is unlikely to find them.

"We have the customers, we have the product, but the limiting factor is labour," he said.

"We're sending out 400 tonnes to the United States and we have got orders from Japan and France.

"We work seven days a week, 24 hours a day and employment levels have doubled in recent years, but at the moment finding the right people is very difficult."

Mr Robins added that with winter approaching and many indoor jobs available elsewhere in the county, he simply could not attract unskilled labour for the physical outdoor work.

Farmington Natural Stone - the company run by Mr Robins at the 50-acre quarry - has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years thanks to the demand for natural stone from the building industry both in the UK and abroad.

Mr Robins added the staffing problem does not exist in the skilled side of the business, which produces fireplaces and flagstones.

The latest figures issued by the Office of National Statistics show 198 men and 76 women in West Oxfordshire claiming Unemployment Benefit - just 0.5 per cent of the district's working population.

And more jobs are being created in the area.

The timber frame housing company Stewart Milne, which is building a £10.4m factory off Deer Park Road, Witney, will be taking on the first of up to 200 staff next month.