Guests told to leave 'bust' hotel

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/tyne/7824961.stm

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Guests and staff at a hotel on Tyneside were given 20 minutes to leave after it was closed down.

Some guests at the Springfield Hotel in Gateshead were even escorted to their rooms on Monday morning by security staff who watched them pack.

Thirty hotel workers were also told they had lost their jobs as operator Legacy Hotels ceased to be in charge from midnight on Sunday.

Legacy Hotels said the hotel went into receivership on 8 October.

The company said it had now handed over management of the hotel to GVA Grimley, acting on behalf of Lloyds TSB Bank.

Gravely disappointed

Guest Jenny Syson said: "We were actually escorted to our rooms by a security guard who watched us as we packed our stuff and left."

Andy Townsend, chief executive of Legacy Hotels, said: "We were advised this morning by GVA Grimley that they were closing the property with immediate effect.

"We were also told that all matters surrounding this were being managed by their management company with responsibility for the Springfield Hotel - Licensing Solutions.

"It is a grave disappointment that this situation has occurred and I am led to believe that Licensing Solutions are working with everybody concerned to find a speedy conclusion to this situation."