Workers sacked from the prestigious Wembley stadium building project stepped up their protest today with demonstrations at the site and outside the head office of the Football Association.

Workers, most of whom are from the North-East, held a giant metal chain and padlock outside the new stadium to complain that they had been locked out.

Members of the GMB and Amicus unions have staged a protest at the site since having their employment contracts cancelled last month following a row over hours.

GMB general secretary Kevin Curran met some of them today and said they had been used as ''innocent pawns'' in corporate games.

''The GMB will do all it can, even constrained by laws that favour the whims of employers, to help them get back into work.

''Wembley is a showpiece project, and its management and employment practices should reflect that.''

Shop steward Graham Caster said: ''We want to be part of the Wembley project again. Through no fault of our own, we have been sacked and excluded from our own national stadium.''