A BLACK cloud was hanging over a close-knit community last night due to uncertainty over the future of its second-biggest employer.

News that hardware manufacturer Eliza Tinsley had gone into administration - reported in The Northern Echo on Wednesday - raised concern among councillors for the future of its Evenwood plant, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham.

The factory has a workforce of 219, after making 62 redundancies at Christmas, and is the second largest employer in Evenwood after roofing specialists C A Group.

Local councillor Arnold Smith said losing the plant would have a drastic affect on the community.

"It is not just the jobs at risk but all the spin-off jobs. The workforce eats in Evenwood, they go to the butchers, the bakers and the newsagents," he said.

Accountants Ernst & Young was appointed as administrator for Tinsley on Tuesday and said it was hopeful of finding a buyer.

The business, which employes 980 staff nationwide, had suffered from increases in costs and a downturn in consumer spending.

Teesdale District Council leader Ken Robinson said: "In terms of employment, it is a significant player and I think the main hope for everybody is that somebody comes to take it over."

Evenwood Councillor Raymond Gibson said: "The plant employs a very skilled workforce and I can't see them finding employment in this area easily if it comes to that.

"I passed the plant last night and it had a very depressing look to it. Lights were out, there weren't many cars there."

Bishop Auckland MP Helen Goodman said she was concerned for its future.

"The aim of the administrators is to stabilise the business and sell it as a going concern," she said.

"For the sake of the 200-plus people it employs in Evenwood, and their families, I hope that the administrators are successful. We have to leave it in the hands of the professionals."