AS the final hope of securing a buyer for Redcar’s steel plant was extinguished, workers spoke of the heartbreak of watching their industry shutting down with little prospect of it ever reopening.

With more than 2,000 people losing their jobs since SSI announced at the end of last month that there would be a pause in production, many people believe closing down of the coke ovens could be the death knell for the industry in the region.

Ken McGlasson, 52, and from Redcar, was a production supervisor at the plant and had worked there since 1986 when he was a 21-year-old.

"Last year I said we won't last til Christmas. The news hasn't surprised me," he said. "When you've worked in an industry as long as I have you can tell when things aren't going to work out. This year has been a nightmare for materials, resources, equipment. It has been critical for a while.

"I might get another month or two if they take me on as decommissioning crew. Otherwise I have got an engineering background and supervising skills on my CV so we'll see where we go from here. I don't predict to get a job on the same wages that I was on but I can take the pay cut and survive.

"The lads feel fed up. They are younger men with families and mortgages who are feeling worried and depressed. My wife is more upset that I am. For her it was the insecurity of not knowing what was going to happen."

Mike Gilbert, who worked at South Bank coke ovens for more than 30 years, was fighting to contain his emotion as he spoke of the impact losing his job has had.

“I am just absolutely devastated,” said the 51-year-old of Middleton St George. “I have no other option but to sell our family home as a result of losing my job. People seem to think that because of my age that my mortgage would be nearly paid off, but it isn’t.

“Last time the steel plant closed down the coke ovens managed to stay open, but all the workers haven’t been that lucky this time. Once these ovens go out, that will be it, I can’t see it ever reopening and that is devastating for everyone involved.”

Bob Hardy, a 36-year veteran of the steel industry, lost his job last week and on Monday his son Daniel was laid off as well.

The 52-year-old, of Redcar, said: “I’m just recovering from a hip operation so to hear that I had lost my job was so hard to take.

"Working in steel is the only thing that I have done so I have no idea what the future holds for me.

“To make things even worse, Daniel lost his job today but he had to find out through social media which is horrendous. He is 23 and just bought his first home six months ago – what does the future hold for him?”

Paul Warren, the chairman of the plant’s multi union, was left shocked after learning that the plug was being pulled on coke ovens.

“Once these ovens are closed down, that will be it,” he said. “The cost of restarting the ovens if the price of steel recovers will be millions of pounds. I have spent almost 25 years working in the coke ovens and today’s news feels like the death of steelmaking in Redcar.

“We have been promised £80m from the Government, but whether that money will be made available to the people who really need it, remains to be seen. I fear this really could be the end of steelmaking on Teesside.”