PRIME Minister Tony Blair's consituency was facing a pre-Christmas jobs blow last night as a company told workers its factory was under threat of closure.

Transmission & Lighting (T&L), part of the Balmer Lindley Group, said it was looking to make redundancies in the New Year.

T&L moved into the former Sanyo factory, in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, in 2003.

It said it was initially asking for voluntary redundancies, but will then consider compulsory lay-offs.

In a letter to employees seen by The Northern Echo, it warned it "potentially may have to consider total closure of the Newton Aycliffe site".

Managing director Steve Balmer invested £1.5m in the Newton Aycliffe factory two years ago.

And the company received a £750,000 sweetener from regional development agency One NorthEast to come to the Sanyo site, owned by the County Durham Development Company (CDDC).

The plant was officially opened by Mr Blair at the beginning of last year, when he praised the company for creating jobs when other manufacturers were struggling.

Last night, neither CDDC, Sedgefield Borough Council, or councillors were aware of the problems at the factory.

Mr Balmer was unavailable for comment.

Scunthorpe-based Balmer Lindley manufactures safety fencing, crash barriers, and bridge parapets. The T&L arm specialises in street lighting.

Workers were called into a meeting on December 14, when they were warned the company was experiencing difficult trading conditions.

On Tuesday, a letter from general manager Graham Dickinson was sent to employees.

The letter warned: "Looking at future orders, it is unlikely that we will be able to sustain the same level of staff at the plant, or potentially may have to consider total closure of the Transmission & Lighting site in Newton Aycliffe."