Dairy Crest Group will close a creamery in Somerset and bottling dairy in London, resulting in the loss of 260 jobs.

The Hanworth dairy in Somerset is being closed as the demand for glass bottled-milk fell from 94% in 1975 to 4% in 2012. The facility will remain operational for about two years and its 200 employees are being involved in talks on this, the dairy said.

The proposal to end production at Hanworth follows a strategic review of the company’s residential delivery service and is necessary to protect the long-term future of this business, it said.

The Chard facility will be shut in the second half of 2015. The dairy said that it has considered many options to improve the economic viability of this site but without success.

Dairy Crest Group CEO Mark Allen said: "The decisions to consult on the closure of our Hanworth and Chard sites have not been taken lightly, but they are right for the long-term future of the business as a whole."

With plans of closing Hanworth facility, production will be stepped up at its three plastic bottling dairies in Chadwell Heath, Greater London; Foston, Lincolnshire; and Severnside, Bristol.

The company said its overall profit expectations for the full year ending 31 March 2015 remain unchanged.