Eighty jobs are on the line as an Angus manufacturing firm ceases trading.

Ross and Bonnyman, which reported a £7m annual turnover, has gone into administration.

The firm, running for nearly 40 years, employs around 80 staff at its factory and head office in Forfar.

Ken Pattullo, provisional liquidator, said: "It is very sad to see the end of such an established company and it will be a great loss to the local community.

"While it is inevitable that we will have to make redundancies, we are hopeful that with such a well known brand and leading products in the lifting solutions sector, we will be able to achieve a sale of the assets and business.

"We have already had a number of enquiries, but in the short term we cannot continue trading the company due to lack of cash flow to pay employees and suppliers."

The Forfar company is a market leader in the design and manufacture of lifting equipment, supplying goods to the retail, service, food, distribution industries.

Mr Pattullo said public sector spending cuts affecting the ambulance lifts part of the business, and retail and warehouse expansions happening slower than anticipated, has led to a reduction in orders for the company.

He added that an inability to adjust the overhead base quickly enough following the sale of the commercial vehicles spare parts division of the business last year also seems to have affected the company finances.