EMPLOYEES at one of Preston's largest construction firms have launched an astonishing attack on their bosses, claiming the way the firm handled its redundancies has helped to wreck lives.

An anonymous letter received by the Citizen this week accuses Eric Wright Group, based in Bamber Bridge, accuses company managers of totalling mis-handling recent redundancies made by the firm in an attempt to cut costs.

And the angry employees believe jobs could have been saved if the building giant hadn't ploughed so much money into its charitable work, namely an outward bound centre for underprivileged children in the Lake District.

The letter goes on to say: "The staff knew the company was having financial difficulties but we were all working hard to cost cut.

"The redundancies came as a total bombshell to staff, with no reasons given.

"Staff morale within the company is very low and many staff do not feel secure."

And the letter adds: "No director/board member has been made redundant. They should take responsibility for the rapid decline of the company."

The employees, still working at the firm, say they have not been allowed to speak about the redundancies to any callers, which they claim is a bad reflection on them.

The two-page letter says: "Eric Wright Company bought and redeveloped a property last year called Water Park, an outward bound centre in the Lakes as part of the Eric Wright Charitable Trust.

"Many feel the redundancies have come as result of this.

"It is a shame that the company has a charitable trust but Mr Eric Wright, the chairman, has given no consideration to the lives he is destroying as a result of the redundancies."

Eric Wright Group has worked on some of the area's most prestigious developments, including the Sceptre Point Business Park in Walton Summit, which was opened in a blaze of glory by hero yachtsman Tony Bullimore in 1997, and the Churchill Way shopping centre in Leyland.

Michael Collier, a director of the firm, said: "We have made five people redundant, which is six per cent of our workforce, and this is due to a downturn currently being felt by the entire industry.

"It is disappointing to see this letter turning on our charity work, which in no way affected these redundancies."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.