JODRELL Bank, home to one of the countries giant astronomy dishes is facing closure.

The Cheshire based centre which can claim some of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of the last century is being axed to plug a £80m shortfall.

As one of the world’s leading explorers of planets and space, Jodrell Bank tracked the Sputnik Satellite in 1957 and more recently proved Einsteins theory of relativity.

Funded by the government’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC),it has now been downgraded as "low priority" meaning the council will now longer cover the £2.5m running costs.

The STFC is facing a budget shortfall of £80m and is trying to reduce spending by stopping e-Merlin, the project linking seven radio telescopes across the UK.

Ending funding for e-Merlin is likely to spell the end for Jodrell and the six other astronomy dishes based across the country from Cambridge to the Welsh borders.

This comes despite more than £8m already being spent to upgrade the dishes to make the network up to 30 times more powerful.

The Royal Astronomical Society has described the announcement as a "severe dent" to Britain’s reputation for space study.