DESPERATE workers from Vosper Thornycroft took their fight to parliament today amid fears that the Triton could be one of the last ships built at their Southampton yard.

Up to 150 highly-skilled employees facing the possibility of a bleak future were determined to voice their concerns about the threat of redundancies at their yard.

They fear hundreds of jobs are hanging in the balance if an order book gap is not plugged and if there are any further delays in signing contracts for the new generation Type 45 destroyer.

Politicians listened as union members pressed home their deep worries about the impact of VT's preferred option to centre future shipbuilding in Portsmouth rather than in Woolston, which has long been the company's home. They called for the MPs to help the Woolston yard, which has a 1,000-plus workforce, win additional contracts to fill the void between the end of the current order book and the start of the Type 45 programme.

Members of the AEEU believe that failure to find this extra work may lead to the workforce being reduced to a point where the company's ability to build the Type 45 is jeopardised.

The union claim that delays in the contractual process have already led the company to issue protective notice of redundancy for 650 employees.

VT has promised to withdraw the redundancy threat if the Type 45 contract is signed soon, says the AEEU.

Lobbying workers also raised their unease that continued delays in the signing of Type 45 contracts may put the long-term future of warship building locally in jeopardy.

AEEU regional officer, Mike Budd, said: "The Type 45 is vital for the future of warship building on the South Coast.

"The contracts have to be signed as soon possible. We want our MPs to put pressure on the Ministry of Defence to reach a conclusion that is in the best interests of our members.

"Our members are already very worried about the threat of 650 redundancies which were an-nounced two weeks ago. Any further delays in signing the contract will cause unnecessary worry to the families and communities that rely on this order.

"If the yard does not get extra work to plug the order book gap before the Type 45 is built there is a real danger that this will trigger a series of redundancy announcements.

"This would demoralise the workforce and mean vital shipbuilding skills would be lost forever.''

VT says Portsmouth has clear advantages because of space constraints at Woolston.