Pinneys closure: ‘It’s not just me, it’s all my family… This is a disaster for us’

STACEY CLARK has been with Pinneys since she left school at the age of 16.

Now aged 31 and with a six-year-old son to look after, mainly on her own, she feels she’s been thrown on the scrapheap.

Stacey took time out from the plant after her son, Cohan, was born but returned as a part-time worker for five years.

Three months ago she started full-time on a 9–5 job that paid £8.96 an hour and she was also given overtime on Sunday shifts. These start at 6am and are vital to help pay the bills.

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Now Stacey fears she will end up on benefits, the last kind of life she wants for her son.

“I rent at the moment but have been trying to save for a deposit for my own house along with my new partner because renting is so expensive,” she said. “But news that I will have no job has blown all that out the water.

“I went straight to Pinneys from school and like a lot of people around here the money seemed good for a youngster.

“All these years later I can see I did things the wrong way around and should have first gone to college.”

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Now that Cohan is at school, Stacey said she is reluctant to move him away from the town and his family – something she fears she may have to do to find a new job.

“Because I had a break in my employment and was part-time for a few years this will have ruined my redundancy pay,” she said.

“But it is not just me who is affected. My sister, two uncles and some cousins work there, so it will affect every single household in my family. It’s a disaster for us all.

“I’ve worked hard all my days and have always been brought up to stand on my own two feet but now I feel those feet have been taken away from under me.”