Cheddar's biggest civil engineer has shed an unknown number of jobs.

Ford Bros made the announcement late on Tuesday, but refused to say how many of its large workforce had been made redundant.

However, the multi-purpose construction firm quashed rumours it had gone into administration.

Its statement said: "Despite the severe downturn in the construction market, Ford Bros had a very successful financial year with turnover and profit exceeding expectations.

"Orders expected this financial year have been delayed or shelved, especially in the civil engineering division, and as a result the directors, with the support of its stake holders, have decided to realign the business to suit the present financial situation.

"As a result of this alignment process a number of employees unfortunately have had to be made redundant."

It is estimated the company's workforce is between 100 and 200 people.

The firm is one of the most well-known to come out of the Cheddar Valley, with its fleet of green vehicles instantly recognisable on the region's roads.

It started out as the Chelmscombe Quarry Company in 1946, producing limestone aggregates and building stone in Cheddar.

It was in 1950 that it diversified into surfacing work, and in 1961 became Ford Bros.

Since then the limited company experienced booms as its reputation grew, and the Eighties saw it begin taking on larger contracts for housing developers, and then park-and-ride schemes for public bodies.

Arguably its biggest project was the Northern Distributor Road in Bridgwater in 2004, worth £3.5 million. Since then it has completed projects at Clarks Village in Street and Tesco in Shepton Mallet.