East Devon District Council is putting plans in place to assist those affected by job losses at Axminster's Goulds Pumps factory.

It was announced last week that the factory, which has operated in Axminster for 25 years, would be closed with work being transferred to parent company ITT Industries' factory in Germany.

Cllr Paul Hayward, East Devon District Council's deputy leader and portfolio holder for economy and assets, says he is now working with the council's economic team to put together a staff resource place to "assist all those affected at this terrible time".

He said new of the factory's closure broke before relevant agencies could be properly consulted, but they could support staff once the formal notice of planned redundancies were submitted.

Cllr Hayward added: "Another significant blow for the town and is likely to have knock-on effects for everyone in town; the landlord, staff, suppliers, ancillary companies and family.

"Sadly, we've seen this happen before locally and the mental health challenges might, in conjunction with the stress of COVID-19, be as bad as the financial ones. But the town is renowned for pulling together at times of adversity, so we take stock, and move forward."

More details about support for staff of Goulds Pumps is expected to be released shortly.