STEELWORKERS rocked by redundancies on Teesside last week are bracing themselves for a fresh round of job losses.

Speculation is mounting that Corus, the country's biggest steel producer, is to axe 1,600 jobs in South Wales within the next few days.

Corus, formed by last year's merger between British Steel and Dutch firm Hoogovens, has so far refused to confirm or deny that more redundancies are imminent.

The firm revealed plans to shed 1,200 staff nationally, last Friday, including 530 at its Redcar site.

A spokesman for Corus said any reports of fresh job losses in the UK were "speculation".

The company has announced more than 2,500 job cuts in the past month, partly blaming the strength of sterling.

A spokesman for the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) said: "It is appalling that these leaks and rumours are continuing.

"The staff at Corus deserve better and management should end the speculation."