On Wednesday night the finance company behind Elite Upholstery withdrew its backing without notice.

This is despite the company having a full order book and its best-ever sales.

Managing director Peter Martindale said the shutdown was "devastating" and the knock-on effects were very painful for a lot of people.

When I went in to work there was a lady on the door saying we were all redundant

Gareth Ainsworth, upholsterer

"The company has beaten budget, it has done the best turnover ever, we have full order books and we were growing and we could see where we were going in the future with very good prospects.

"It's very unfair, not just from a personal point of view but of course for 150 staff in this area plus our customers and suppliers around the country, some of which are dependent on us in quite a big way."

Upholsterer Gareth Ainsworth said: "I am quite angry at the way they have dealt with it - letting us know nothing until the last minute.

No calls

"I just got a phone call on Sunday night from a supervisor saying 'Don't come in to work until further notice'.

"I was one of the lucky ones - a lot of people didn't even get a call.

"When I went in to work there was a lady on the door saying we were all redundant."

The Labour MP for Kettering, Phil Sawford, whose constituency covers Desborough, is hoping the buoyant job market will help people looking for more work.

"There are jobs around and hopefully we can help people to find those jobs, but unfortunately there is not pot of gold we can dip into."