About 30 jobs will be lost when part of an office supplies firm quits its two West Sussex sites.

Lyreco has announced the stationery arm of its business will move from two sites at Ford, near Arundel, and Littlehampton to Telford, Shropshire, next year.

One hundred workers are based at the company's offices on the Rudford Industrial Estate in Ford and Lineside Industrial Estate in Littlehampton.

Staff in sales, printing and customer services will not be affected by the transfer and will remain in Sussex.

Workers have been told about the job losses and are now considering their futures.

Amanda Read, spokeswoman for Lyreco, said: "I hope the job losses, which will be about 30, will drop because we will be asking people if they wish to relocate to Telford.

"At the end of this year we will also approach local employers in an effort to relocate those staff not wishing to move."

The move comes after a £20 million investment at a new distribution centre for the company in Telford.

The firm was formerly called European Stationers, which was formed in October 1989. By 2000 it had grown to be a company with a £13 million turnover.

The company was acquired by the Lyreco Group, a France-based multinational office products firm, in 1997.

The operation in Telford employs 1,200 people and has a turnover of more than £140 million a year.

The group employs more than 5,000 people worldwide in 20 countries in Canada, Europe and the Far East.

Arun councillor Richard Wilby said the Littlehampton Business Partnership and his authority would work with those who lost their jobs.

He said: "There are ways potentially we and business partners can assist and we will be contacting Lyreco to see how we can help ease the difficulties of those concerned."