Crop researchers face the chop from BBSRC

Up to 200 researchers at the Institute of Arable Crops Research laboratories in Long Ashton could lose their jobs under a restructuring plan.

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, which funds the labs, is considering whether to relocate the labs to a sister site at Rothamsted in Hertfordshire.

A spokeswoman for the research council said: "It is true that the BBSRC has looked at the Institute of Arable Crops Research's sites and considered the options. However, no decision has yet been made."

A spokeswoman for the University of Bristol, which employs the researchers, said: "We are unable to comment until a decision has been made."