THE Queen's carpet maker will cease production on Friday, with the loss of 138 jobs.

The closure of Hugh Mackay Carpets, in Durham, brings an end to more than a century of manufacturing tradition.

Quality control team leader Anne Robinson, one of the few staff left at the plant, said: "Ideally, we would love to see the company carry on.

"We are hanging on by our fingernails, but they are being ripped out."

The company went into administration on March 22, after the failure of a deal to bring extra investment.

About 100 workers were made redundant immediately and more jobs have gone as orders have been completed.

The last shop floor staff will leave at the end of the week, with five workers kept on to help wind up the business.

A spokeswoman for administrators Ernst and Young said: "Production will cease at the end of the week. The administrators will continue to negotiate with interested parties.

"It will take some time to establish which elements of the business they are interested in purchasing, from plant machinery and customer books, to intellectual property."

The administrators said from the outset that carpet production would end, but were hoping to salvage a smaller operation concentrating on carpet design.

It is also believed that another British carpet maker is interested in buying the Hugh Mackay brand.

Last month, LG Philips announced its Durham electronics plant would close with the loss of 761 jobs.

A task force was set up and the Government pledged more than £500,000 to help the workforce find jobs.

In comparison, workers at Hugh Mackay feel they have been neglected, after the Department of Trade and Industry offered only the statutory aid.

Mrs Robinson said: "We don't think we are any different to Philips workers and feel we should be getting the same sort of help.

"This factory has employed people in Durham for 102 years and has a proud tradition. Durham is losing a lot of skilled people who cannot be replaced."

Production manager Alan Kennedy said: "A lot of workers have been there 35 or 45 years.

"They are not equipped to go about finding another job."

Hugh Mackay's distinctive Durham Cathedral logo is recognised across the world.

Based on the Meadowfield Industrial Estate, on the outskirts of Durham, the company has supplied carpets to Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament.