Farmers hit by the closure of a dairy in Aberdeen have agreed to continue supplying its owner with milk.

They face paying around £25,000 a year to transport it to Muller's processing plant at Bellshill in North Lanarkshire.

Sixty people lost their jobs when the dairy shut in June and more than a dozen others left in the weeks before its closure.

But Muller said the majority of the 43 farmers who supplied the plant have agreed to stay on, paying a 1.75p per litre surcharge.

A spokesman said: "We fully recognise the impact on employees and dairy farmers of the closure of our dairy in Aberdeen but in a challenging business environment it was not possible to operate a dairy where 60% of its capacity lay unused.

"Despite the closure of our dairy in Aberdeen we want to continue to support dairy farmers if they wish to supply Muller.

"That's why we are offering two options - an evergreen contract or the opportunity to make alternative arrangements for their milk production and cease supplying us in 12 months.

"Much has been made of the additional cost of transport for milk but it is important to stress that even taking this into account, the farm gate price we offer remains competitive in an industry where returns for all parts of the supply chain have been badly affected by an imbalance in supply and demand.

"Whilst we do not have clarity on all farmers intentions at this point, most have opted to continue supplying us. We will continue to work with those who have not yet indicated their preference."