WITHIN minutes of the news breaking, business owners had launched a petition calling on the government to do everything in its power to keep the furnaces burning and stop Redcar becoming a ghost town, as thousands of people face losing their jobs in the run up to Christmas.

Sadly, this not the first time the town has been left reeling by the prospect of huge unemployment and industrial decline, and in times of crisis the indomitable spirit of people in the area comes to the fore.

Garage owner and the chairman of Redcar Business Association, Pat Denney, is relying on people’s fighting spirit to stop the town slipping back into economic decline.

“It is absolutely devastating,” she said. “The town was just picking itself up from the impact of the steelworks closure in 2010 but this time it could do irreparable damage to Redcar.

“We have already lost businesses from the town centre and if people have lost their jobs and don’t have any cash, there is a strong possibility more could follow.

“The people of Teesside are made of stern stuff so we won’t stop fighting but this time we really don’t know what the future holds.”

The fear for many people is that the return of an economic downturn could have a devastating and long-lasting impact on small businesses in the town, who are already finding it increasingly difficult to turn a profit.

Jo Carroll, who runs a Breed Above pet shop with her husband Dan, knows that their business will start to suffer as soon as people begin to cut back.

“We can’t lose steelmaking from Redcar, it is part of our heritage,” she said. “I feel so incredibly sorry for the people who are losing their jobs, it must be heartbreaking for them.

“The last time it happened we saw an immediate downturn in business and things were just starting to pick up again. But if people don’t have the money or a job something has to give. Customers went from buying only the best food and equipment to buying what they could afford, and that is never good for any business.”

Walking through the town centre it is clear how many empty shops and closed down businesses, with shutters over the windows, are already causing reduced footfall of shoppers coming into Redcar.

Fruit and vegetable shop owner Mark Robinson said his business will suffer as a result of the mothballing but knows that he is in a better position than many people who are facing the prospect of redundancy.

“I feel so sorry for these people,” he said. “Any of them, who are in their 50s like me, are going to find it difficult to retrain to find work, especially if that is all they have ever done. Anyone under that age is going to find it difficult to find work as there is very little work out there at the moment.

“It feels like the town has been in recession since I was a young man, we lost thousands of people from ICI, thousands of people from heavy industry and now this – the town needs support from the government to get through this.”

Derek Blissett, who worked as a contractor on the site for decades until he retired the last time the plant closed, fears for the future of the site.

He said: “I decided to call it a day the last time the plant closed down but I was almost 60 at the time, so it was the right thing for me to do. I fear that many of the people facing redundancy will not be in the same position and will find it difficult to find work.”

Retired steelworker Vic Jeffrey hopes that everything can be done to save the plant but fears the worst.

He said: “I know they are mothballing the site rather closing it down completely, but when the market is so uncertain and there is stockpiled steel around the globe, they can’t keep it like that forever.”

And retired National Grid worker, Dennis Bailey said: “I have many friends who work there and they fear this could be the last time the plant is up and running.

“It could have a devastating impact on the entire area, not just Redcar.”

At the Premier grocery store in Ennis Square, Dormanstown, Redcar, a steady stream of customers were picking up bits and pieces for their tea.

Pensioner Marion Clark said the news about the steel plant closure was "sad".

She said: "A lot of people are struggling around here. It is a poor area and this is the last thing we need."

Mark Briggs, a former offshore worker, said: "Most people know someone who works there or has worked there.

"A lot of the jobs are well paid and there is not a lot of those around."