A COMPANY in Darwen is being wound up with the loss of more than 30 jobs.

Liquidators have moved in to manage the affairs of bed manufacturer Sleepline 1994 at Progress Mill in Marsh House Lane. All the staff and directors have been made redundant.

Angry workers say they are owed wages, holiday and back pay and an angry deputation confronted former director Matthew Nichols on Thursday. He said they would be able to make a claim from the DSS redundancy fund.

Mr Nichols today blamed the recession and the downturn in the housing market for the company's demise. He said: "The company is in the hands of the liquidators who are trying to find a buyer.

"If one is not found, the company will be broken up and the assets sold. The staff will be able to claim any outstanding wages from the redundancy fund."

Mr Nichols said the bed industry had, like many other industries, been affected by the slump in the housing market

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