DEMONSTRATORS turned up the pressure on the Government over pensions by staging a protest through Tony Blair's North-East constituency.

About 150 protestors carrying banners gathered in the Sedgefield constituency, on Saturday, to voice their anger over losing out on full pensions.

The former workers of firms Dexion, United Engineering Forgings (UEF) and Allied Steel and Wire lost significant parts of their private pensions when the companies went into receivership or became insolvent.

Mike Wailes, 61, former employee of storage solutions firm Dexion, based in Leeds, said that despite working for the company for 24 years and paying into a private pension scheme, he was expecting to receive about 20 per cent of what he was owed.

Mr Wailes, of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, said: "We want to make sure that the Government knows that this issue will not be forgotten."

After business debts are settled, there is often little or no money left to pay the employees of insolvent companies.

Legislation in the Pensions Bill which is likely to be in place by 2005, will protect workers' savings, but those who have already missed out will not be compensated.

Robert Bates, former chief executive of UEF, which had plants in Ayr, Sheffield and Bromsgrove, said he had sympathy for former employees.

He said: "These are guys in the latter part of their working lives and have no possibilities of catching up and getting a pension that will give them a reasonable standard of living."

Demonstrators hope the march will put pressure on the Prime Minister to take responsibility.

They have the support of the Transport and General Workers Union and Amicus, both of which have lobbied for a change in legislation.