Hundreds of jobs are at risk at a prominent fish factory north of the border.

Young's Seafood has announced the proposed closure of its Pinneys site in Annan, meaning 450 jobs could be lost before the end of 2018.

The blow comes as the company has signed three contracts with M&S to supply the high street giant with chilled and frozen coated fish, natural salmon and white fish from 2018 to 2023.

Young's Seafood has chosen to exit deli and meals production from Pinneys, as it said this production was no longer financially sustainable.

The company proposes to move the remaining natural salmon production undertaken at the Annan site to Young’s existing natural salmon facility in Grimsby.

Bill Showalter, chief executive of Young’s Seafood, said: "The proposal to close our Young’s Pinneys site does not reflect on the committed and skilled teams at Young’s Pinneys – they are a credit to our company and if these proposals do go ahead we will work hard to maintain the employment of all colleagues throughout this transition.

"We have a long history of seafood production in Annan and whatever the outcome of the consultation we will continue to be a part of the community, given our other factory site within the town.”

Should the proposals be implemented, the company would need to recruit 200 new roles in Grimsby, in addition to recruiting up to 50 roles at its scampi factory in Annan to support growth.

Young’s Seafood will commence a formal consultation with staff and their representatives at Pinneys to discuss and consider options.

The company said it will work closely with employee representatives and other appropriate organisations to ensure that it has "a meaningful consultation before any decisions are made and that colleagues at Young’s Pinneys have all the information and support they need".