Tumble dryer manufacturer Crosslee is set to axe 97 jobs.

The company, based at Hipperholme and best-known for its White Knight range of dryers, blamed the decision on “a significant reduction” in sales volumes to the lowest level for over 28 years.

It said the company operated profitably in the hear to July, 2015, but at a much lower level than is acceptable.

A spokeswoman said the business took a decision to try and weather the storm during last year in the hope and anticipation that the forthcoming year would see a significant improvement in sales volumes and overall trading.

But she said exports had been hit by the continues weakness of the Euro and aggressive pricing by its overseas competitors.

The firm was now entering a consultation period with employee representatives to consider ways to avoid or reduce the number of job losses.

She said the company would consider any volunteers for redundancy but could not rule out compulsory redundancies.