One of the country's oldest breweries is to close with the loss of hundreds of jobs, shocked workers were told today.

The Scottish & Newcastle plant in Edinburgh will shut at the end of the year, employees were told at an early morning meeting.

Union leaders reacted with fury to the development and said they would fight compulsory redundancies.

Workers at the factory were called to a meeting at 5.30am and told by managers that the brewery will close at the end of 2004.

Tuesday February 17, 2004