Frightened Italians return home

SEVERAL Italian workers hired for a £17million building contract at a British refinery have returned home because of safety fears.

The vice-president of IREM, Giovanni Musso, said he was concerned about the welfare of his 100-strong workforce in the face of anger at the exclusion of British workers from construction contracts. Some employees left at the weekend and others who are still in Italy are said to be worried about coming to complete the contract at the Total Refinery at Lindley, Lincolnshire.

Mr Musso said: "There is a real climate of tension and this has been felt by the employees. The other night a few of them wanted to go out into town but they were stopped by a group of protesters.

"We are sending a team to the refinery later this week to check on the situation and decide what to do."