CIVIC leaders in a North Yorkshire town are at loggerheads over the impact of a factory closure making 300 workers unemployed.

Officials are in dispute over what impact the closure of Brandons Turkey factory at Dalton, near Thirsk, will have on the local economy.

Don Moore, chairman of the Chamber of Trade, said: "The number of people who will be affected by this is huge, even before you look at those 300 laid-off.

"The farms who supply the turkeys will be hit, those who supply machinery, equipment, goods, those who supply the farms - everyone will be affected."

But the Mayor of Thirsk, Andrew Robinson, said: "All 300 employees don't come from Thirsk, and even if they did, that would be a very small part of the population.

"This is a small incident, it will not affect the viability of Thirsk market town.

"Maybe a few farms will close, but we rely on the tourist market, and this will not affect that."

But Mr Moore said: "The tourist industry is hardly satisfactory, we have been badly hit by foot and mouth and September 11.

"And it's all right for the mayor to say he doesn't think it will have much effect on Thirsk, but that's a market town.

"What about the surrounding area, the people who have been laid off?

"People too old to get another job, or those young ones who have commitments and a mortgage to pay - what will happen to them?"

Updated: 11:16 Thursday, May 01, 2003