Watson's Dairy near Wickham to close with the loss of 144 jobs

Watson's Dairy in Mislingford in the Meon Valley has become unviable, parent firm Medina Dairy said, after the business lost a supermarket contract.

Staff members were told of the closure on Friday.

The parent firm, which bought Watson’s Dairy in 2004, said its suppliers and customers would not be affected.

The closure is the result of ‘extremely challenging market conditions’ in the milk sector, according to Medina Dairy chief executive Sheazad Hussain.

He said: ‘By simplifying and consolidating our processing activity we will be able to create a more sustainable and appropriately scaled business.’

Medina Dairy plans to investigate other uses for the site while transferring production to dairies in West Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, and London.

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