A spokesman said GSK closed the plant at around 0300 British time due to torrential rain which had affected drains and would look to reopen the site once the weather forecast improved.

Britain was hit by heavy rain across the south of England on Friday, causing transport disruption and local flooding.

The spokesman said the flood could cause short-term disruption to its output but that production lines could return to normal quickly once operations resume.

(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Jason Neely)