AN MP fighting to save jobs at MyTravel's Helmshore call centre believes campaigners are losing the battle.

Rossendale MP Janet Anderson said it had to be accepted now that as many as 200 jobs will go as there was "no chance" of keep the site in Holcombe Road as it is.

But she said she and other campaigners were still fighting to keep some of the jobs in the area.

MyTravel announced in June that it was planning to cut 2,500 jobs across the country, including the Rochdale HQ.

It followed the firms £2.8billion merger with German-owned rival Thomas Cook weeks earlier.

Managers had moved swiftly to find proposed savings and were planning to run the new company from Peterborough, where Thomas Cook is based.

Mrs Anderson spoke out after meeting company bosses to talk about the situation.

She said: "I think we have to accept that there is no chance of saving the site as it is, but there are a number of options we are looking at to try to keep some of the jobs in the area.

"Hopefully we will be able to come up with a solution before the end of the consultation period in September."

She said options included moving some jobs to the firm's site in Accrington, a reduced presence at the Helmshore site or another site in Rossendale, although she said the last option was the least viable.

Bill Challinor, deputy leader of the council, has pledged that the council would continue do all it could to help workers. He said that the job losses would be devastating to the valley as people would have to commute out of the area to find similar work.

MyTravel bosses are in the middle of a 90-day consultation about the proposals. Manny Fontenla-Novoa, joint chief executive of the Thomas Cook Group, has said as many of those people affected as possible would be offered the opportunity for redeployment.

MyTravel refused to comment on the meeting with Mrs Anderson, saying that it was confidental. Aspokesman said the public would be updated after the consultation period.