MINISTERS have held talks with the management of a closure-threatened fish processing plant in a bid to keep it open and safeguard hundreds of jobs.

Enterprise Minister Paul Wheelhouse has met bosses of Young's Seafood after they announced plans to close the Pinneys of Scotland plant in Annan with the likely loss of 450 jobs.

Pinneys, which was founded in 1976 and has a Royal Warrant to supply smoked salmon to the Queen, specialises in top-end seafood products, including pates, terrines, cooked lobsters and crabs.

READ MORE: Hundreds of jobs to go as smoked salmon produceraxes major Scottish processing plant

Grimsby-based Young's said production at Pinneys is "no longer financially sustainable" so it will axe the plant and deal a devastating blow to the south-west of Scotland economy.

But senior politicians have vowed to fight the move and are exploring ways of keeping production going at the site.

The leaders of Dumfries and Galloway Council said they will not take the decision lying down while Mr Wheelhouse said he will "leave no stone unturned" in his efforts to retain the jobs.

There are serious concerns about the impact of the closure could have on the region, where Pinneys is one the largest private sector employers.

Mr Wheelhouse revealed that he held "constructive" talks with the management of Young's on Wednesday.

He also spoke with Elaine Murray and Rob Davidson, the council leader and her deputy, in a bid to address the situation.

He said: "I and the Scottish government, our enterprise and skills agencies and local partners, such as the council, are all fully committed to working with Young's to explore any potential options to retain production at the site and safeguard as many jobs as possible.

"I am determined that we leave no stone unturned in our efforts to retain employment, given the importance of the plant and these jobs, and the livelihoods and businesses they support in wider local community".

READ MORE: Hundreds of jobs to go as smoked salmon produceraxes major Scottish processing plant

An action group will meet today which will involve the council, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish government.

In a joint statement, the councillors said: "Just because Young's have announced this closure, does not mean that we accept this lying down.

"We need to do everything that we can to take up the case with the company to persuade them to reconsider the closure of the site in Annan."

Local MP David Mundell, the Scottish secretary, said both governments and agencies needed to work together to mitigate the impact of any closure.

He said: "The UK government is absolutely committed to doing all that we can to deal with this very difficult situation.

"This is an area that does not have a large number of big employers, it doesn't have an obvious place for people who are displaced from these jobs to go."

"It's a workforce that is very skilled, that's been very loyal and now has been abandoned by a company that they thought was going to e on that site for a very long time."

READ MORE: Hundreds of jobs to go as smoked salmon produceraxes major Scottish processing plant

Pinneys Smokehouses were established to produce smoked salmon for mail-order customers. Another factory was opened two years later to supply retail outlets.

A purpose-built factory opened in Annan in 1985 and produced its first ready-made meal for M&S the following year. Eventually all of Pinneys' production processes were transferred to the site in 1997.

Young's has said it wants to begin a consultation with Pinneys staff and their representatives "as soon as practicable".

Chief executive, Bill Showalter, said the proposals did not reflect on the staff at Annan, who he described as a "credit to the company".

He added: "We will work hard to maintain the employment of all colleagues throughout this transition."