FACTORY workers have been sent home after production was halted by a Northumberland manufacturer amid fears the company is about to fold.

Interior design manufacturers H-A Interiors, based in Cramlington, has not paid its 80 staff for nearly two months.

Now bosses have been forced to shut down production as its European parent company faces a financial crisis. The company, which opened in the North East in 1947, has seen sales slip since the beginning of the recession in 2007, as homeowners cut back on decorating.

The firm makes and sells self-adhesive Readyroll borders and wall stickers, and Fablon Wall Coverings.

Last year, it was forced to cut 30 jobs in an attempt to streamline the business.

Union bosses are now in talks with the beleaguered company over the pay issue. The Journal understands the owner’s other factories in Holland and France have also ceased production.

Last night, workers told how they fear the latest development signals the end of the firm after 64 years of trading.

One woman in her 40s, who lives in Northumberland and asked not to be named, said: “Morale is the lowest it has ever been.

“The company has been struggling for a few years now and many of the workers feel this is the end. We’re all terrified because it’s so hard to find a new job these days.

“We’ve got people who have been working here for over 40 years. It has been a big part of their lives and now it could be over.

“We were sent home this week because they told us they had to shut production down. There’s nothing for us to do.

“The word is we have absolutely no money left. For now, we’re just ringing in every day to see if they need us, but there’s no sign of that happening in the near future.”

Two years ago, H-A Interiors merged with German parent company Alkor-Venilia, which bought the company from VDN, also German, in 2005.

The company invested more than £100,000 in plant and machinery, which included a move to digital technology along with the conversion of machinery to run more efficiently and be more environmentally friendly. But sales did not pick up as directors had hoped.

Last month, staff were left bemused when they were not paid on April 21.

They are next due to be paid on Saturday, but many fear they will be left out of pocket again.

Keir Howe, organiser for the GMB Union, said: “The employer has asked the workers to go home. We are in talks with the company over the payment issue.

“We have been advising our members accordingly, and we are here to support them at this extremely difficult and worrying time for them.”

No one from H-A Interiors was available for comment.