HARD-UP students say they are getting a raw deal from exploitative employers when it comes to summer jobs.

With the rising costs of university education, most students have no choice but to work through the holidays.

But a survey by recruitment agency Pertemps has shown that 66 per cent of students in the region feel employers are taking advantage of them by paying low wages for long, unsociable hours and with boring, menial tasks.

Only eight per cent of students questioned knew the minimum wage, which is £3.70 for people aged 22 or over.

Northumbria and Newcastle Universities both run job shops for students and ensure students do not get less than the minimum wage.

Two students with a bad experience of low pay are Kathryn Kirkpatrick, of Tudhoe and Lindsey Happel, of Ferryhill, both County Durham. The 17-year-olds decided to earn some money before staring university in September by fruit picking in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

But the two were horrified when their pay packets for two and a half days' work came to £6 for Kathryn and 49p for Lindsey. The company said they would have earned more if they had worked faster, but the two are angry at the way they were treated.