Saboteurs went on a wrecking spree in a bid to put a textile company out of business, it has been claimed.

Over the Christmas shutdown intruders spent several hours systematically causing £200,000 worth of damage at Pennine Fibre Industries, at Denholme.

Managing director Brian Scott said:"Somebody really wanted to hurt Pennine to the point of putting the company out of business.

"We employ 90 staff, many of whom have been here for 15 years. It is difficult to understand the mentality of someone who would want to put everyone out of work."

Police confirmed yesterday that they were investigating a malicious break-in at the company, which is offering a £5,000 reward for information.

Nothing was stolen in the break-in, which happened some time between 6pm and 10pm, on Sunday, December 23.

The saboteurs opened electrical and control panels throughout the manufacturing area, cutting most of the wires inside.

They also removed the PLCs -- the "brains" of the equipment -- and damaged the circuit boards they were installed on.

Mr Scott said: " All the panels were then closed with the intention of concealing the damage.

"Theft was not the intention and it has to be assumed that someone with a grudge did it, with the sole intention of hurting the company".

If an engineer had not spotted their handiwork the next day it might not have been discovered until January 2, said Mr Scott.

He said that the intruders had the technical knowledge needed to cause the damage.

They knew the location of machinery isolator switches, took videotape from concealed security cameras and disabled alarm systems.

"This would suggest a knowledge of the working of the company and the police are following various leads," he said.

As soon as the damage was discovered work began to repair it, but it would take some time to find out how much had been wrecked, said Mr Scott.

The firm's engineering staff and a team of sub-contractors worked round the clock over Christmas to get equipment working again.

Mr Scott added: "They gave up their Christmas holiday to try to overcome the problems.

"While full production will not be possible for some weeks after the start-up, at least some production will be available to fill outstanding orders."

Extra security has been installed with a 24-hour presence on site.

Last July the company was "bought in" by its management from a Manchester-based multi-national company.

It has an annual turnover of £12 million and is the UK's only niche supplier of polyester fibre, used for car carpets, duvets, pillows and furniture.