A blue cheese firm linked to an E coli outbreak has had to lay off all of its employees amid fears the business is "finished".

A child died after contracting the illness, which affected a total of 20 people in July this year.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) said Dunsyre Blue, made by Errington Cheese, was the "most likely cause" and has since imposed a ban on the sale of any of the firm's products.

The South Lanarkshire-based firm's founder Humphrey Errington vowed to continue a legal challenge to overturn the ban and challenge FSS to make its findings public.

He said his business faces closure unless it is allowed to restart production and resume sale of its existing stock.

Mr Errington said he had to let all 12 of his employees go and claimed cheese worth around £350,000, currently in storage, may have to be destroyed if sales are delayed too long.

He said he was "acutely conscious" a child had died due to the E coli outbreak but insisted FSS has failed to show evidence linking the outbreak to his products.

FSS has already withdrawn an order calling for stocks of Dunsyre Blue to be destroyed after Errington Cheese sought a judicial review.

"After lodging our case for a judicial review, FSS has backed down and rescinded its order that the cheese be destroyed, which is tantamount to an admission that they had made a mistake in the first place in ordering destruction," Mr Errington said.

"We have carried out our own tests using leading laboratories in the UK and Europe and found no trace of E Coli 0157.

"We are therefore continuing to seek a judicial review at the Court of Session in order that FSS evidence is made public and open to scrutiny.

"FSS say it could take six months to finalise its report but by that time our cheese will have to be destroyed and our business will be finished."

Mr Errington said the issue had thrown the reputation of the British artisan cheese market into jeopardy.

He said: "We have the irony of unpasteurised French cheeses such as Roquefort being imported into Scotland and freely available for sale while a ban exists on our own indigenous cheese."

An FSS spokesman said: "Food Standards Scotland does not place any restriction on the use of unpasteurised milk in cheese production provided that the milk, and the production method used meets legal requirements and does not present a risk to public health.

"Food Standards Scotland would confirm that a petition for Judicial Review has been lodged but cannot comment further on live litigation."