Brier Press staff who lost their jobs when the firm went into voluntary liquidation staged a protest outside the companys plant in High Wycombe in the week before Christmas.

The firm ceased trading on 30 November after going into voluntary liquidation with Moore Stephens.

Brier Press employed 29 people until it closed. Its latest accounts, to 30 April 2001, showed a pre-tax profit of 175,000 on turnover of 2.3m.

But the firms net worth was minus 305,000 and its current liabilities were more than double its assets.