Workers stage 'save our steel' demo

They demanded help for the struggling Corus plant which is the major employer in Redcar, Cleveland, and a key industry for Teesside.

Two thousand jobs could go at the 150-year-old steel plant after a consortium pulled out of a 10-year contract to buy its high-quality product.

Local MPs called on the Government to bring forward major projects which need steel, to boost Corus's order book while negotiations to find a buyer continued.

Electrician Bob Stainthorpe spoke at the rally, and said the public response moved him. The 58-year-old from Eston, Middlesbrough, is deputy chairman of the multi-union committee at the plant, and he estimated up to 5,000 people were crammed the length of Redcar High Street.

"It just shows the public support we have," he said. "People came from all over the country to be here, and it tells us that we are not alone."

Marchers included workers from the local port, and Teesside's chemical industry, as well as steelworkers and their families.

Some banners took issue with the Government for bailing out the banks. One read: "Mr Brown you have helped the banks, your MPs helped themselves to public money, now help us to Save Our Steel."

Mr Stainthorpe said: "We have sent out a powerful message today. It would be an absolute tragedy if nothing was done to save us. It would tear the heart out of the community."

Community leaders warned that job losses would "dramatically" increase the number of children living in poverty on Teesside. Union official Richard Green said: "With the plight of children becoming a serious problem in our community, it's time to recognise that the best answer to the threat of children living in poverty is to ensure that their parents have access to sustainable long-term employment."