ELEVENTH-hour efforts to save a 66-year-old printing firm have failed and from Monday its 160 staff will receive redundancy notices.

Walsden Printing Company, Todmorden, will begin winding up from Monday with most production being completed by July 13.

The company's closure has been blamed on the strength of the pound. Production has halved.

Managing director Jim Kidd said: "Had we been in South Yorkshire we would have been able to access European funding of £4,000 per employee and that would have given us a bit of time.

"If we could have got some funding it would have provided us with a base on which to go forward. We don't expect to run a business long-term on hand-outs. Assistance might have meant we could have looked at putting together a management buy-out.

"Todmorden has not got assisted area status, but the unemployment level is going to be such that it will soon qualify, but by that time there will not be the businesses in the town to assist."

Mr Kidd has been at the company since 1985 when it was bought by the Leeds Group and has been managing director for the last 11 years.

He said: "This place is very close to me indeed."

He said he also faced an uncertain future because his role in the Leeds Group had been to look after the company's four printing plants in the UK, but by the end of year they will all have closed.

The company mainly employs people from Todmorden, but other workers travel from Burnley, Barnoldswick and Littleborough. He said he was concerned for the future of the employees who were being made redundant because there was nothing left in Todmorden for people with their skills.

Textile manufacturing has been on site since 1870s and the printing company has been in operation since 1935.

Calderdale Council has offered redundancy counselling and support.

A spokesman for Calderdale Council said: "The council has already been in touch with the company to offer redundancy counselling services and support.

"However regrettably no grants are available to help the company. This is an unfortunate and regrettable incident."