IT is hard to imagine a community in the United Kingdom which has suffered more economic pain in recent times than Spennymoor.

The near-1,000 jobs to disappear at Black & Decker follow the devastation already caused by the closure of the Rothmans and Electrolux factories.

We can fully understand if there is ill-feeling towards the American directors of Black & Decker, who ultimately bear responsibility for this decision.

For more than three decades Spennymoor has been a jewel in Black & Decker's crown. It has pioneered manufacturing techniques - and revolutionised productivity - which have been copied and put into practice elsewhere. It has helped created a range of products which have kept the company at the forefront of its markets.

Since 1965, the company has provided secure and well-paid jobs for the people of Spennymoor and the surrounding areas. It has helped establish a tier of smaller businesses which have provided raw materials and services for the factory.

But it has done so not for philanthropic reasons. It has done so because it made sound economic sense to come to Spennymoor and remain there.

Having made millions of pounds of profits out of Spennymoor for so long, the town could have expected some loyalty in return at a time of short-term adverse conditions.

Sadly, morality counts for little in the global economy in which we live today.

It is cheaper to manufacture in the Czech Republic than Spennymoor. In the world of big business, the simple laws of economics hold more sway than sentimentality.

Difficult as it may be, Spennymoor has to accept that the transfer of production is inevitable. Instead, it has to focus its attention on the future.

It can take some solace from the recovery and revitalisation of other North-East communities which have had to endure the sudden loss of their core industries.

Consett has recovered from the loss of steel-making. Wearside is recovering from the loss of mining and shipbuilding. But recovery is slow.

The lesson from other areas is that economic revival is possible, but it is imperative that there is no delay in delivering the support and resources Spennymoor desperately needs.