A Shropshire company has laid off more than 20 people after a slump in sales, it was revealed today.

CJ WildBird foods, in Upton Magna, near Shrewsbury, blamed a combination of factors including economic recession, inflation rates and the mild winter for the 22 redundancies.

Chris Whittles, chairman of the company’s Shropshire site, admitted the firm had been unable to give much notice to the people who lost their jobs.

Mr Whittles said the mild weather had seen spending on bird food slump as there was more natural food available for wildlife.

He also blamed bird flu for scaring many people away from spending their money on food and feeders.

He said the jobs of the remaining 130 employees at the Upton Magna site were safe, along with those at the firm’s premises in the Netherlands.

Mr Whittles said there was a possibility the company could re-employ those who lost their jobs later this year if there was a harder winter and demand rose.

“The matter is closed for now, until the market picks up. But it won’t pick up before May. If we get a hard winter it could alter things dramatically.

“The continent is still doing extremely well. We are still a strong and successful company, but we have just suffered a bit of a blip which is the nature of business,” he said.