A CRISP maker originally set up by workers after the demise of Golden Wonder north of the Border is to stop producing snacks in Scotland.

Highlander Snacks in Bathgate, West Lothian, will be closed by its Italian owners next week with the loss of 28 jobs in another employment blow to the area.

The firm, which employed 150 at its peak, was set up by ­management and staff after Golden Wonder moved its Scottish operation south of the Border in 1987.

It comes after the closure of nearby Hall's of Broxburn and the potential closure of the Muller Wiseman depot in Whitburn.

Italian firm Unichips SpA bought the plant from its start-up owners and has ploughed money into the operation, but it decided to halt production on July 31.

The plant is being closed after a drop in sales in the snacks industry and production will now be centralised in Italy.

Factory manager Brian ­Robertson said: "The company explored ways of avoiding closure but sadly no solution could be found."

Golden Wonder, the first firm to produce flavoured crisps when it put cheese and onion on the market in 1962, was itself forced into administration in 2006.

Staff, who had been warned some months ago of potential closure, are to enter a job-finding scheme set up by West Lothian Council and the Scottish Government, which released a £29 million regeneration fund for the area after Hall's was axed.

The recovery plan is designed to create nearly twice as many new jobs as those lost over the next five years in West Lothian, which in April had an unemployment rate of 4.1%, higher than both the Scottish (4%) and UK (3.7%) figures.

Unichips SpA's parent firm San Carlo is based in Milan and makes snacks including crisps and crackers. International brands include the Spanish brand Crecs, French brands Flodor and Gardeil.

The Bathgate firm's financial accounts showed it made a loss of nearly £1m in 2011 and the report said the site had received loan and other financial backing from the Italian headquarters.

The report stated: "The ­financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis and that the validity of this depends on the continued support of the company's parent company by providing adequate loan facilities and agreeing to help meet the company's ongoing obligations."

Cathy Muldoon, West Lothian Council's executive ­councillor for development and transport, said: "We would like to offer our sympathy and support to the 28 staff and their families affected by the closure of the Highlander Crisps plant in Bathgate, following the decision by owners San Carlo to centralise production in Italy.

"The council is ­working to support local workers and their families through Pace (Partnership for Continuing Employment) Teams, which are working with Highlander staff to help them look at their ­opportunities for employment or retraining."

One worker said "the company have gone through the correct procedures and people are getting their redundancy money, but finding new jobs is going to be tough".

It is hoped the Scottish ­Government and West Lothian Council's Pace scheme will help create 3000 jobs for the area in the long term.