IT was the New Year bombshell no-one expected to hear when the receiver's were called in to Prestige.

More than 300 stunned workers had put in a record-breaking December production performance, but returned from the annual Christmas holiday on January 1 1997 to be met by receiver's men and told to go home.

It was Burnley's biggest industrial bombshell for years and shocked townspeople for whom Prestige had been an anchor of industrial stability -- the flagship of the town's manufacturing strength.

The housewares company was Britain's biggest non-electrical appliance manufacturer making kitchen equipment includes stainless steel cookware, pressure cookers and kitchen tools for home and overseas markets.

At the time GMB Union full time officer for Burnley, Tom Fallows sang the praises of the workers saying: "There were full order books and the workers ensured all the orders were met on time.

"They played their part in the success and were more confident about the future. They pulled out all the stops."

Dejected staff -- many employed at the company for more than 20 years -- were numbed by news that two thirds of the workforce would go in a single blow.

At the time Mark Edmondson, 36, of Ribble Avenue, Burnley, said: "We are all sick. I am going to immediately register as unemployed."

Another production worker, Michael Smith, 26, of Heyhead Street, Brierfield, added: "They are keeping a skeleton staff to work out orders for a month.

"No-one knows what will happen after that.

"People have taken the news badly. We worked overtime last month to meet full order books.

"We knew there were problems at Prestige, but nothing like this. We are just numbed by it all," Mrs Sheila Scholes of Marsden Road, Burnley, said: "There are people who have been here 20 or 30 years who have lost their jobs. It is very sad."

To add insult to injury Prestige creditors, which included hundreds of sacked workers, were told in April 1997 they could only expect to receive 32p in the pound payout for the money owed them by the stricken company.

A creditors' meeting heard how the once great company had a deficiency of nearly £55million after years of accumulated losses.

Directors gave three reasons for the company's failure: competition from imports and margin pressure from rivals; the high level of reorganisation costs; the high costs of running the factory which was far too large for the company's needs.