French energy firm EDF has launched a £12.5 billion agreed bid for British Energy, the owner of Kent's Dungeness B nuclear power plant.

EDF said the board of British Energy had agreed to unanimously recommend the offer to shareholders. The announcement moved EDF a step closer to the widely-expected takeover.

Around 570 people are employed by British Energy in Kent.

An EDF spokesman said: "EDF and British Energy complement each other perfectly and this is an exciting announcement for us both. For EDF, this is a historic milestone in our strategic development plans in Europe and enables the EDF Group to develop significantly in the UK, one of its key markets.

"For British Energy, it places it at the vanguard of new nuclear build in the UK and at the centre of the global nuclear renaissance."

British Energy operates eight nuclear power plants in the UK, including Dungeness at Romney Marsh - the so-called Cathedral of the Marsh.