BUILDER Robert Knight was Christmas shopping in Guernsey when he got the call that told him he was out of work.

Mr Knight, 26, had been employed by the Sark Building Company since March in developing derelict properties and businesses.

The firm employed about 15 men, plus several subcontractors. Mr Knight said the news had come as a complete shock.

‘Most of the workers have got families and a lot of them have children. One of my friends has just started building his own house and he’s halfway through that. ‘The Barclays were really good people to work for. As long as you worked, they did not really bother you at all.’

Referring to the shock phone call from his foreman, he said: ‘I was gutted. My girlfriend, my dad and my brother all work for them. My dad as a carpenter, my brother as a labourer.

‘It was a bit of disbelief really. We thought our jobs were there for years to come. We lost them before Christmas as well.’