ONE of Herefordshire's oldest cider factories - Symonds at Stoke Lacy, near Bromyard - is to close next January.

Bulmers, which owns the family firm, has announced that all production will be moved to its new Hereford site.

"We've invested more than £30m in building a new cider-making plant at Hereford and this now has the capacity to make both the Bulmers and Symonds range," said a spokesman.

"Only four jobs remain at the Stoke Lacy site and the company will be seeking to re-deploy them at Hereford."

Symonds, best known for its Scumpy Jack brand, has been producing cider in Herefordshire since 1727.

As a doctor, founder William Symonds knew of the supposed medicinal properties of cider, which was said to aid digestion and prevent gallstones.

As the business flourished, it was handed down for generations from father to son to keep the Symonds name alive.

In the last century, the firm continued to expand by taking over businesses such as Boultons of Hereford, picking up £6,000 of stock and equipment for just £40 at auction.

It moved to the Stoke Lacy plant in 1939 and remained a family concern until being acquired by Greenall Whitney in 1984. Bulmers took over five years later.

The 10-acre site will now be put up for sale for commercial or industrial use, a move which Bulmers claim will create "much-needed" jobs in the rural area.