REDUNDANT Corus workers on Teesside will get help finding new jobs through a £1.8m grant from the European Social Fund.

The money has been granted to Steel Partnership Training Ltd, an organisation set up by the unions to help those made redundant get back into work.

On Tuesday Nick Brown, Minister for Work, said: "We have been working with the Corus unions to bid for European funding support for a programme of advice, skills analysis and retraining. I am very pleased to announce that the main bid for England has been successful.

"This £1.8m will help Corus workers get new jobs quickly. This matches a similar amount provided by the Government and Corus," he added.

The news was welcomed by union leaders. Tony Poynter, chairman of the multi-union steel committee on Teesside, said workers from the coil plate mill, which ended production last week, would leave the mill for the last time this weekend and could benefit from this scheme.