New deal demolishes job fears for firm

A DEMOLITION firm has bounced back from the brink of collapse after securing a deal to flatten homes as part of a multi-million-pound revamp of Crosby.

Derek Empringham was on the verge of losing his Barrow-Upon-Humber-based Empringham Demolition company during the recession.

He would have also lost his home and his entire family would have been out of work had the company folded.

But after being thrown a lifeline by local companies, Mr Empringham's firm has lived long enough to secure a demolition contract with the Advance Crosby project and other work which has seen his workforce double.

"Because I am not a limited company, the premises where I trade from, including the house, are tied in with the business – I would have lost the lot," he said.

"The only reason we're still going is that local companies who we've worked with for years really helped us out. I owe them a huge thank you."

Scunthorpe's Bell Waste and Grimsby's Stoneledge Plant allowed Mr Empringham leniency on bills which meant his business could continue trading.

He added: "They were really great, without that support we just wouldn't have been able to carry on – obviously now things have picked up we're making it all back."

But thanks to the Advance Crosby contract, Mr Empringham can see light at the end of the tunnel.

His firm, which also employs his wife and son, is contracted to carry out the demolition of homes under the Advance Crosby project and has a further five jobs over the next two to three months.

"Everything has turned around now, we've got loads of jobs on the books and it's really picking up, to the point where we've had our busiest new year ever," said Mr Empringham.

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