A FACTORY only yards from Prime Minister Tony Blair's home in County Durham is poised to shed a third of its workforce, The Northern Echo can reveal.

The Volante factory, in Trimdon, which was opened in 1997 by Mr Blair, is planning to make about 30 staff redundant by the end of next month.

The company, which makes interior panels for buses and trains, has come to the end of an order with a major customer and there is not enough work.

Workers at the factory said they were shocked by the news, given that last month they were told the business was doing well.

Joe Winnie, operations manager at Volante, said: "We are a project-based company and we are coming to the end of a major project, and unfortunately we do not have another project of the same size.

"It is fairly early - at the moment we are going through the consultation process, exploring all options and still looking for other contracts that we might be able to bring in in the short-term.

"We are looking at all the options, either to get additional business or redeploy people."

One worker, who did not wish to be named, said the job losses would have a big impact on the Trimdon area, where most of the workforce is based.

He said: "There aren't many factories around here and in Trimdon Village there is only 1,000 people, so it is difficult for everyone.

"If the factory shut, that would be it.

"It has only been open about seven years.

"It has come as a big surprise to us because we had a meeting just before Christmas and they said everything was going great - that order books were choc-a-bloc and everything was fantastic.

"Now we have just been told that 30 full-time staff are going and all the temps are finished and that we are going to the dogs.

"That is what they said - that a third of the workforce are going by February 25.

"They are starting the selection process next week."

Mr Blair opened the factory and then returned for a visit in 1999 with his wife, Cherie, when the company had an artist in residence on the premises.