The jobs of 40 textile workers were saved from the axe after a Bradford firm stepped in to buy up a threatened business.

The entire workforce of the 130-year-old Huddersfield firm Butterworth & Roberts faced redundancy at Christmas after the owner announced his retirement.

But in an 11th hour deal, Bradford-based textile firm Gamma Beta bought up the mill near Holmfirth - and safeguarded its future.

Butterworth & Roberts was established in 1868, but when current owner John Roberts announced his retirement, it looked like the end for the firm.

Mr Roberts said with no family member to take the reigns, closure had been an option he seriously considered.

Gamma Beta was formed in 1932 as Hield Brothers. Based in Little Horton Lane, it has the trading brands of Moxon of Huddersfield, Hield Brothers and Fred Ambler - with a total annual turnover of £12 million.

Its chief executive Robert Mattock said: "We have bought the business for an undisclosed sum and have no plans whatsoever to cut the workforce.

"There are a lot of people who have been there a long time and that experience is something we value and want to hold onto."

But Mr Mattock said he planned to boost the company's turnover, currently standing at around £1 million a year, by turning towards exporting goods rather than relying on the dwindling domestic market.