HUNDREDS of North-East workers feared the worst last night as electronics company LG Philips dealt another blow to the British manufacturing industry.

The company - a partnership between the Dutch Philips group and Korean company LG - announced the closure of two UK factories yesterday with the loss of almost 1,000 jobs.

The decision sent shock waves through the North-East where LG Philips employs more than 800 workers on the outskirts of Durham City making tubes for televisions. Union leaders said they feared for the future of the plant.

They claimed to have seen secret internal company documents that put a question mark over the factory's future.

There was further bad news last night when clothing manufacturer Dewhirst said it planned to merge three factories in Sunderland with the loss of 380 jobs.

The company blamed cheaper products from overseas for the decision to close two plants in Pennywell.

A North-East spokesman for the GMB union, which represents textile workers, said: "We've seen the wholesale closure of the clothing industry in the North-East over the last five years.

"Our people are hard working and diligent but they can't compete on cost with foreign goods."

The news dampened celebrations over the announcement of 290 new jobs at a Virgin call centre in Middlesbrough.

Sir Richard Branson said the Virgin Mobile call centre would increase its staffing from 110 to 400 by next year.

But his claims that the North-East was "a great place to do business" did nothing to calm nerves among LG Philips workers following the group's decision to close factories in Wales.

The Amicus union demanded "urgent assurances" about the future of the Durham plant.

The union said it believed the future of the factory was uncertain beyond 2004 - and said it had seen internal company documents to prove it.

Earlier this year, LG Philips announced plans to shut its other North-East plant, on Wearside, after 32 years. Some 120 workers are to lose their jobs.

At the time, LG Philips said the decision had been taken because the Wearside operation couldn't compete against cheaper labour abroad.

However, the company was at pains to stress the decision would not affect 800 workers in Durham City. Now, however, union officials fear the company may be about to go back on its word.

An Amicus spokesman said: "The Newport factory produced colour tubes for televisions and computer monitors. This is a devastating decision. We shall be seeking reassurances as soon as possible."

The Northern Echo revealed last year that jobs at Durham could be threatened by a new factory at Hranice, in the Czech Republic.

The group can employ five workers for the price of a single worker in Britain.

The foreign plant has the capacity to make ten million TV tubes a year.

LG Philips has been hit hard by a slump in demand for TV tubes throughout Western Europe, and even the low cost Czech plant has been affected.

All three lines at the factory were closed earlier this week and will not re-open until June 2.

LG Philips last night denied knowledge of any secret "hit list" for its UK plants.

A company spokeswoman said she was not aware of the document, adding that a number of discussions had been held, covering "all scenarios".

But one North-East employee, who asked not to be named, said: "Things are pretty grim. It doesn't matter how cheaply we can make TV tubes if nobody wants to buy them."