SHARES in the Blackburn-based Scapa Group went into freefall after the company warned profits would be £2million below expectations.

The company, which makes specialist adhesive tapes and films, saw its share price fall 20 per cent to an all-time low of 18p.

In November the company announced a £3.3 million profit for the first six months of the year and was expecting a total for the year of around £7.5 million.

In a statement to to the Stock Exchange, Scapa said it would be accelerating its closure programme in Europe, with two plants due to shut down in the next three months with a further three to follow by the end of the year.

"Trading in most of our Continental European and UK markets has been even more difficult than anticipated, with sluggish domestic demand in Germany, France and Italy in particular," the company said.

Scapa, once one of Blackburn's biggest employers, closed all of its East Lancashire factories in the 1990s, but retained its headquarters in Preston New Road. The company employs more than 1,800 people at sites in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia.