ANXIOUS Woolworths’ workers face a bleak Christmas after the high street retailer went into administration.

Many of the company’s 200 workers at its distribution depot in Faraday Road, Dorcan, turned up for their shifts yesterday wondering if they would still have a job after the festive season.

One employee said many staff had been left reeling by the news.

He said: “I am only thinking about Christmas. What am I going to get for my kids? Am I going to be able to afford to buy them anything at all?

“Everyone’s minds is firmly fixed on this, it’s a feeling of pure shock – let’s just hope it is saved.

“Someone will buy it, we are all still very worried about the future though.”

Another worker said she was not surprised the firm had got into financial difficulties.

She said: “The company lost its way, it forgot who it was. It started taking on huge loans earlier this year and owing millions of pounds.

“That is not what Woolies is. We are all sad here today.

“We don’t know anything. Hopefully, we are going in to find out now. It is a sad day for everyone around the country all the employees are worried about the future.”

The administrators of Woolworths yesterday said they would be looking for a “suitable buyer for all parts of the business”.

Deloitte said it had received interest from “a number of parties” for both the retail arm and the firm’s Entertainment UK distribution business in the past 24 hours. The collapse of Woolworths, which opened its first UK store in 1909, has thrown uncertainty over the future of the retailer’s 30,000 staff, although its 815 stores across the country are expected to stay open until after Christmas.

But Dan Butters, Deloitte’s reorganisation services partner, said: “We are working hard to ensure that any sale of the business, in whole or part, will preserve jobs.”

However, the company was dealt a further blow yesterday when National Lottery operator Camelot stopped selling tickets through its shops, meaning the company can no longer sell Lotto tickets and scratchcards, or process prize claims.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also spoken out about the retailer’s demise. He said: “The important thing is in the long-run that employees in this company – where the businesses and the shops are not going to stay open in the longer term – can get other jobs quickly.

“That’s why we’re going to move in immediately to give advice to employees in the company.”