THE Serious Fraud Office has been called in to investigate the affairs of Alta Gas plc, the Merseyside firm with a major depot in Burnley.

The police investigation was confirmed by receivers Grant Thornton who were called in following the discovery of "major financial irregularities" at the company which bottles and distributes gas throughout the UK.

Staff at the Burnley depot, which supplies domestic and industrial customers throughout East Lancashire, are still waiting for news of their jobs.

Knowlsley-based Alta Gas employ more than 300 staff from a network of 30 depots. The depot at Widow Hill Road in Burnley is one of only seven which also has bottling facilities.

A spokesman for Grant Thornton said the business and assets of the company had been transferred into a new operating subsidiary which would continue to trade under the Alta Gas name.

New monies had been found to finance the business in the short term while the receivers look for a buyer for the business which had claimed to be the UK's largest independent suppliers of LPG and bottled gas.

In a statement, Grant Thornton said: "There are strong indications that the failure of Alta Gas plc was the result of major financial irregularities.

"The receivers will conduct detailed investigations into these irregularities and have a duty to submit a report to the Department of Trade and Industry.

"Under the new management team, customers of Alta Gas will be provided with continuity and quality of service, free of previous obligations and liabilities." The new management has been put in place to run the business, headed by David Hoare, chief executive; Alan Parkin, finance director; and Kevin Mawer, joint administrative receiver, as chairman.

Mr Parkin said the new company would aim to make a success out of a vibrant new business.

"We will be looking to retain all our depots and therefore all our staff, where the depots are profitable," he said.

"At this stage we are not in a position to say which are profitable and which are not."