Dairy Crest could be sold to a Canadian buyer in a deal worth nearly £1billion.

The makers of Cathedral City cheese and Clover spread - who have a processing plant in Oldlands Lane in Stonehouse - have accepted a £975million bid from Saputo.

Shares in Dairy Crest, which is listed on the FTSE250 index, rose more than 15 per cent after the bid from the Toronto-based Saputo - one of the world's top 10 dairy groups.

Saputo was founded in Montreal in 1954 by Guiseppe Saputo and the company has grown from a C$500 investment to employing 15,000 people worldwide.

The addition of the 1,100 Dairy Crest employees from the seven sites around the country would give them their first foothold in Europe.

Dairy Crest processes 500 million litres of milk a year at its Oldends Lane facility in Gloucestershire where it also manufactures cream and FRijj fresh milk drink.

The Unite union has called for an urgent meeting with Saputo in the wake of the news to seek assurances over the 1,100 jobs.

Dairy Crest reported "strong volume and revenue growth" for its key brands in a trading update for the six months to December 31, 2018.

Its Cathedral City brand grew by around 10 per cent, while there was also growth for the Clover, Country Life and Frylight brands.