Union leaders are to launch legal action against a major trailer manufacturing firm, which closes today with the loss of 70 jobs, The Northern Echo can reveal.

Utility International is shutting down its huge premises on the outskirts of Northallerton, North Yorkshire, after going into voluntary liquidation.

But it will still face legal proceedings for "failure to consult" from the engineers' union AEEU/Amicus, which claims it was given just one hour's notice of the firm's intention to fold.

Regional officer Gerry Hunter said the case would go to an employment tribunal and any possible award in the union's favour would ultimately rest with the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

"This has been put against Utility and the liquidators have been provided with a copy of all the details. On Wednesday, July 3, they declared bankruptcy and our lads were told that afternoon that it was the end of the company," he said.

Many workers have already left, but a skeleton staff is thought to have stayed on until today to complete final orders.

The firm - best known as the former York Trailers - had endured a string of ups and downs in recent years.

In March 1997, when it was York Trailers, the company laid off its entire staff because of a lack of orders.

But it was taken over by US-based Utility a year later and was soon celebrating a £2.5m order, which led to the creation of 80 jobs.

However, Utility was dealt a massive blow when the truck rental firm City Trucks folded recently and its liquidators sold off around 2,000 trailers as low as quarter-price.

Hambleton District Council said it had previously been prepared to discuss ways of developing the extensive Yafforth Road site, but its offer of help was never taken up by landowners Wordsworth Holdings.

The council's head of economic development, Mick Jewitt, said: "We asked them, 'why don't you look at restructuring your business there and developing the land for other uses?', but they never came back to us.

"We were looking at maybe letting out some of the premises to other manufacturers to see if it could be developed that way, because I can't imagine they used all that land."