THIRTY people have lost their jobs, and have been left without redundancy settlements after the sudden closure of a telecommunications firm last Friday.

Borg-DC, a telecoms training company based at Greythwaite Hall near Newby Bridge, went into liquidation this week after seven years trading, leaving devastated staff to collect their P45s.

Managing director Mark Phillips blamed Borg's abrupt demise on a global slump in the telecommunications market, which has seen share prices of top firms like Erricson, Marconi and Lucent collapse.

In particular, a new training contract with Canadian company Nortel, as reported in the Gazette in February, failed to deliver the expected income.

Indeed, Nortel itself has recently cut 30,000 employees - about 30 per cent of its worldwide workforce.

Mr Phillps said: "We've had a huge downturn in sales since July and August.

We looked on September with optimism but it just didn't happen.

Our targets were not going to be reached, so we had to make a decision.

"There won't be redundancy payments because there is no money in the pot."

Staff members, eight of whom are local to the area, complained that they had not had adequate warning of the closure.

Bruce Leslie, a former Borg training officer from Kendal, told the Gazette: "About two weeks ago we were e-mailed saying there was going to be a round of redundancies and then about a week later Mr Phillips said he believed the company would go."

Another former employee, who did not want to be named, said: "We have been told we are not going to get paid for August because the bank has frozen the account.

I have no money to pay my rent."

Mr Phillips denied that staff had not been properly informed of the situation.

"We have a very open business.

Our order book is available, it is on display to staff and I am sure they have been aware of the downturn."

He added: "I have personally invested seven or eight years in this, I'm the biggest financial loser."