Mr Lumby, head of retail and small business banking at the Leeds-based Yorkshire Bank, added: "I had not heard anything on the grapevine and often you do get to hear things.

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"This has come out of the blue and my immediate reaction is one of huge disappointment for Leeds at a time when the city is already facing uncertainty in terms of the jobs market.

"It is good that the company is giving its workers plenty of forewarning of the closure and that will hopefully help them to find alternative employment. Many of them will have skills which are transferable.

"It concerns me when something like this happens and we weren't expecting it but I know Yorkshire Forward and local and national government agencies will work together to try to help those affected find new jobs."

Just three years ago Carlsberg announced it was investing £13m in a new high speed canning line in Leeds in readiness for an expected surge in
demand during the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament, creating an extra 24 jobs at the brewery.

The new canning line complemented a 60,000 bottles per hour bottling line that was also installed at the Danish brewer's city centre site.
Carlsberg UK production director Gert Petersen said then that the investment represented a "clear message" that the UK was a strong market in which to invest.