Major UK power company nPower, which has its headquarters in Swindon,  has announced a cutback which could result in up to 4,500 jobs being axed, possibly including some at its Windmill Hill Business Park facility where around 180 people are employed..

Under the restructuring, Npower's owner E.On will merge computer systems to save money. Three call centres are under threat of closure, at Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, an office in Hull and one in Worcester.

The restructuring plan - which is set to cost Npower £500m - would see small businesses and consumers served by the same computer systems and customer service teams.