A SCOTTISH engineering company, which employs more than 600 people, is understood to be on the verge of calling in the administrators.

BiFab, or Burntisland Fabricators, which has two yards in Fife and one at Arnish on the Isle of Lewis, builds large-scale equipment for the offshore oil and gas industry, as well as platforms for offshore wind turbines and tidal generators.

It has been hailed as one of Scotland's success stories for creating jobs linked to oil, gas and offshore renewable energy.

The GMB Scotland union has said it would be "a hammer blow" to workers and demanded urgent answers from the company. Secretary Gary Smith said: "We are in contact with the Scottish Government and the possibility of losing over 600 highly skilled and decent paid jobs doesn't bear thinking about. Letting these workers and their communities go under is not an option."