ABOUT 30 jobs will be created in Oxfordshire following the decision of a drug-testing company to move two laboratories to Milton Park, near Didcot.

Concateno, one of Europe's leading drug and alcohol testing company, took over Oxfordshire-based Cozart earlier this year in a £64.5m deal.

Concateno hopes to save £2m a year by shutting its premises at London's Canary Wharf and Warrington, offering the 100 staff the chance to move to Oxfordshire.

Chief executive Fiona Begley said: "Everyone has been offered the chance to move, but we expect that not everybody will want to, so this will probably create about 30 jobs.

"One of the attractions for us as a technically-based business when we were looking for strategic sites was Oxfordshire's technology resources."

Most of the vacancies are for science graduates, but there will also be customer service posts, she explained.

The move is expected to be completed by May next year.

Cozart, with more than 100 staff, supplies roadside drug-testing kits to 173 of the 600 police stations in England and Wales.

Ms Begley said: "Concateno is now Europe's leading drug and alcohol testing company.

"The world-class facilities in Abingdon will help us to deliver the best service to our customers and value to our shareholders."