16 May 2012 Last updated at 11:41 ET

Groundwork South West goes into administration with 150 jobs lost

Groundwork South West is part of a federation of independent charities in the UK

A company set up to help disadvantaged communities with skills and job prospects is itself going into administration.

Groundwork South West has its headquarters in Plymouth, but it has a number of community projects across Devon and Cornwall.

It opened a new charity shop in Plymouth about five weeks ago.

Employees were told in a meeting that a total of 130 posts were being made redundant with immediate effect.

Groundwork employs a mixture of full-time and part-time workers.

One full-time employee in Plymouth, who did not want to be named, said: "I'm absolutely gutted to lose a fantastic job, working with brilliant people with great ideas."

'Motivational programmes'

A company spokesman said it was not yet possible to say what would happen to the community projects or the new charity shop.

Groundwork South West is one of 35 independent charities that comprise the Groundwork Federation.

Sir Tony Hawkhead, the national chief executive, said in a statement: "We are obviously very sad to see a member of our federation forced to take this difficult step.

"We aim to work closely with administrators when they're appointed to provide whatever help we can to ensure communities in the south west continue to get the support they need."

Employment Minister Chris Grayling MP recently described Groundwork's programme as "one of the most innovative, motivational programmes" he had seen.