THE 550 workers at the former Lucas Rists plant have become the latest East Lancashire victims of the cheap foreign labour that is devastating local manufacturing.

The company has confirmed that some work from the Leoni site is to be moved to countries including Romania where wages are significantly lower.

The German firm, which took over the site just weeks ago, admitted that manufacturing in the UK was increasingly difficult because of competition from overseas.

The firm has sites in Eastern Europe and North Africa where an increasing proportion of the worldwide car component industry is being moved.

Leoni said some of the work at the Pickup Street site is being transferred to its other plants, particularly Romania, but stressed that some production will also be moved to its other UK sites.

The announcement is the latest devastating blow to East Lancashire's troubled car component industry.

Already this year TRW in Burnley -- also a former Lucas plant -- has axed 450 and Caligen Foam of Accrington and Viktor Achter of Burnley have together announced plans to cut more than 150.

Leoni UK's wiring division marketing manager Chris Watkin said the Accrington site, which will close in November, could not compete with lower wage countries.

He stressed that the decision had been taken by the UK arm of Leoni rather than the German parent company and was in no way affected by the sale of Land Rover to Ford.

"It is with regret that the company makes this announcement. However, economic pressures in the automotive industry are such that high volume manufacture of wiring harnesses is increasingly difficult to sustain in the UK." The firm said a number of employees at the site would be offered positions at other sites owned by the company in Shrewsbury and Staffordshire.

"We are doing all we can to help workers at Accrington," he added.

The site employs 350 permanent staff, 100 part-time employees and another 100 temporary staff.

East Lancashire's MPs today reacted with dismay to the latest jobs blow and pledged to raise the manufacturing crisis in the region with Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers and Chancellor Gordon Brown.

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope is to raise the issue with Mr Byers.

"This is a devastating blow for Accrington," said Mr Pope, who is Trade and Industry whip.

"We know manufacturing faces major problems because of factors such as low wage competition from Eastern Europe where workers are paid in some cases almost slave wages."

Burnley MP Mr Pike, whose constituency bore the brunt of the previous batch of automotive industry redundancies earlier this year, will raise East Lancashire's problems when he meets Mr Byers to discuss manufacturing in his capacity as one of the Parliamentary Officers of the GMB union.

If he fails to get any satisfactory answers, he said he will call a special Commons debate on the issue.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said the issue was above politics.

"I shall be speaking to my fellow East Lancashire MPs to set up an all-party delegation to go and see Mr Byers on what can be done."

Mrs Anderson, who is today meeting Airtours managing director Richard Carrick, will be speaking to Mr Brown and Mr Byers.

Pendle MP Gordon Prentice is to lobby both Mr Byers and Mr Brown for a shift in policy to help manufacturing.

The announcement by Leoni brings to an end a 36-year era of wiring manufacture in Accrington.

It was opened in 1964 by the Midlands-based Rists Wires and Cables Ltd with just 20 employees. Within four years it was employing 850 -- nearly all women.