UNION representatives at Chorley's beleaguered John Smith's depot have been meeting with chiefs at the site.

The brewery workers have been voicing their thoughts to management on the future closure of the John Smith's distribution depot at Cowling Brow, Chorley.

In a week when local pubs and breweries were celebrating their commendations in the Good Beer Guide, the firm's draymen were facing up to a bleak future.

John Smith's recently announced 93 jobs will go at the Chorley depot when work is shifted to other sites in Manchester, Stretton (near Warrington), Chester and Abergwynregyn in North Wales early next year.

The company said it will be creating 77 vacancies across the sites, and these would provide 'redeployment opportunities' for some employees.

And more than 30 customer service and support staff will keep their jobs, staying on the site until it is sold. John Smith's then plans to move them into other offices in the Chorley area.

A furious Lindsay Hoyle MP said: "I am extremely disappointed with the decision taken by John Smith's to close the Chorley site. Over the years the workforce at the brewery has shown a commitment to the company. Unfortunately the company are not showing the same loyalty to their workforce. During the period of a possible takeover by Fosters the employees in Chorley battled to ensure Scottish and Newcastle survived the proposed predatory take-over."

And he added that Chorley Borough Council had also shown commitment to the company by seeing that the bridge over the canal at Cowling was re-constructed to allow heavy goods vehicles to access the brewery.

"One can only say that the name of Scottish and Newcastle is tarnished following the way in which they have approached this matter," he commented.

John Smith's is discussing the exact date of the closure with employees and their representatives. The company added: "Following the acquisition of the former Greenalls retail business by Scottish & Newcastle in 1999, a full review has been conducted to determine the most appropriate structure to accommodate the additional volume and service the new, enlarged customer base".