TWYFORD Bathrooms has confirmed its manufacturing plant in Queenborough is to close with the loss of more than 100 jobs.

After a year long period of consultation with the workforce and the GMBU union, the owners, Sanitec, plan to cease production at the plant in May.

Sanitec had bought Twyford Bathrooms, which makes lavatory pans and washbasins in January 2001, but Paul Maloney, district officer for the union, believes they planned to close the plant all along.

Mr Maloney said gradual redundancies have been taking place for the past nine months.

A year ago he told the staff a year ago that it would take £3 million to save the plant, with £1 million coming from savings being made, another £1 million from Sanitec and the rest from outside funding.

He urged local businesses, the press and councillors to campaign to save the jobs at Queenborough.

However, Sanitec has now announced that closure will go ahead and that 118 workers are affected this year. It will continue to develop its Twyfords operation at Alsager, near Stoke on Trent.

Mr Maloney said: "No matter what arguments we put across to keep the plant open, they didn't want to listen.

"This will have a devastating effect on the economy as the workers have always produced high quality sanitaryware, which is sought after all over the UK."

MP Derek Wyatt had asked ministers to hold talks with Twyford's management and was seeking financial and training packages if redundancies went ahead.

In April last year managers from Twyford Bathrooms met with JobCentre personnel at Sheerness to discuss retraining, employment opportunities, housing benefit and mortgage issues as part of a package to help workers facing redundancy.

Training in new areas has been taking place.

Alan Brown, managing director of Twyford Bathrooms said: "We are making every effort to ensure the impact is lessened for those affected."

But Mr Maloney said: "The workers would be far happier to have a job. The packages they have been offered will not cover mortgages for those with families to support."