THE announcement of job losses at Black & Decker is the latest in a series of body blows for the tight-knit community of Spennymoor.

Falling trade, lack of investment and mass redundancies have become common place in a town that has been left almost without hope.

A black cloud hangs overhead and residents have been left agonising over who will be next.

The news that 950 workers will lose their jobs has ripped through the economic heart of an already fragile town, where confidence is low and prospects are bleak.

The downturn in employment has continued through two decades.

Thorn Lighting, Rothmans and electrical company Electrolux shed at least 10,000 posts in the 1980s and 1990s.

At Thorn alone, the workforce dropped from 8,000 to 2,000 and its Spennymoor site now employs only 900 staff.

The firm has a long history of job losses. In 1994, 80 jobs were lost at Rothmans and Thorn Lighting.

The firm suffered another blow in January 1997 when 40 non-production posts were shelved as part of a move to increase efficiency.

Two years later it was announced that 50 clerical and administrative posts were being axed.

Days earlier, neighbouring Black and Decker laid off 32 people.

In October 1997, the axe fell on Electrolux's refrigeration plant in the town with the loss of 650 jobs, with a further 350 predicted losses through a knock-on commercial effect. The firm finally admitted defeat and closed.

In the same year, Minister for Employment, Andrew Smith, visited Spennymoor to witness how a Government New Deal initiative was working at Thorn Lighting.

He pledged to do what he could to help the town, which was still reeling from a succession of job cuts.

At the time, he said: "We will keep up efforts to attract jobs and inward investment, building on the North-East's successful record, which is my mission today to see people are skilled and trained is all the more important."

But the jobs and investment failed to materialise.

In 2000, Rothmans shut its cigarette plant in Spennymoor and another 450 workers found themselves without employment.

In December the same year, Thorn Lighting decided to close one of its production facilities with the loss of 75 posts.

Black & Decker's permanent workforce has already shrunk to 1,000 - it was 2,300 in 2000, with compulsory layoffs and voluntary redundancies a regular event.

The latest blow will hit Spennymoor hard. Councillors are worried about the knock-on effect the job losses will have on other businesses.

Sedgefield Borough Councillor Alan Hodgson said last night: "It is very sad news. The Black & Decker base was a good plant, probably the best plant they had in their operation. This is going to not only affect Spenny- moor but also surrounding villages.

"It will hurt a lot of companies in the town, that's the side we have not yet heard."