Two thousand jobs are at risk in Scunthorpe with British Steel anticipated to announce it is shutting down its blast furnaces.

It is thought that the owners of British Steel, China's Jingye Group, will confirm the decision later today.

GB News understands an announcement is set to be made at 2.30pm.

The business is set to outline plans to shut down the furnaces in order to replace them with two new electric arc furnaces which which will help it looks to transform into a "green and sustainable company".

The construction of the new furnaces will take between two and three years.

Unions have warned that the proposals would lead to as many as 2,000 job losses.

A British Steel spokesman said the company was committed to "providing long-term, skilled and well-paid careers for thousands of employees and many more in our supply chains".