MORE than 120 staff at an East Lancashire tax office are facing an uncertain future after bosses announced the building will close.

Workers at Accrington's HM Revenue and Customs office staged a walkout yesterday after being told that their jobs are being transferred to regional centres in Liverpool and Manchester.

Around 100 staff stormed out of the Castle House office in Eastgate after being told the "devastating" news.

A streamlining review has been taking place nationally by HMRC as part of a drive to save £30 million.

And a union official said many workers were in tears when they were told details of the phased-in closure of the branch, which will begin next year.

Davina Gregson from civil service union PCS said: "We had been given assurances that the centre here in Accrington would stay open.

"It has come as a massive shock. A lot of staff are very upset.

"It is unreasonable to expect them to commute so far to work."

Colleague Alistair McLean said: "We are so angry about this decision and we all wanted to show that by staging a walkout.

"None of the staff can believe that the decision has been made and we have been ignored."

Despite the closure of Castle House the inquiry desk which is currently open to the public at the office will remain in the town at a yet to be decided location.

The Blackburn HMRC building based in Furthergate Industrial Park will continue to operate.

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope contacted HMRC, which pays out tax credits and child benefits, to relay the concerns of the 120 Accrington workers.

He said he was "extremely disappointed" that the office is closing.

Mr Pope said he had been given assurances from HMRC that the Accrington office would remain open and the Blackburn site would close.

He said: "It is astonishing that HMRC has performed such a u-turn.

"After an initial review I was told that the Accrington site was safe.It is a very high-performing centre.

"It is a body blow to the town and I feel very sorry for all of the people who work there and do such a good job."

Mary Hay, the HMRC director responsible for the programme, said: "This decision is the latest to emerge from a nationwide series of reviews designed to create the future shape of the department.

"In arriving at them, we've engaged widely with trades unions, MPs, local authorities and a range of customer groups as well as with our own employees. Their feed-back, together with the feasibility studies carried out by our professional estates and IT partners, have given us a robust basis for the conclusions announced today."