Bradford's biggest wool mill closed its doors for the last time today after 143 years.

The district's industrial landscape changed forever as a 110-strong team of office staff and mill workers bade farewell to Laisterdyke firm W&J Whitehead.

The company, which employed about 600 people before calling in the receivers in July, was one of only three remaining UK combing mills.

Now, after a staged series of redundancies, only a handful of warehouse staff will remain on site to help with stock clearance.

A lifeline appeared to have been thrown to the then-remaining 260 employees in August when London-based receiver Tenon Recovery announced it was in talks with a potential buyer.

But those hopes were dashed when Bangkok-based textiles firm Comerama pulled out after deciding it could not run the mill profitably.

A spokesman for Tenon confirmed that no other buyers had come forward, but said deals had been struck to sell off all the machinery from the site - believed to be worth millions.

He said: "We don't know yet what's going to happen to the buildings or their assets.

"This has been the company's final week of production and we've just been winding down."

Now the Transport & General Workers' Union is working with Bradford Council and the Government on re-training plans to help the hundreds of workers affected.

The union has confirmed that it will be representing more than 100 former employees at forthcoming industrial tribunals, based on claims of unfair dismissal and inadequate consultation.

Tenon, meanwhile, said it could not comment on the claims.

The closure of W&J Whitehead, which in its heyday in the 1950s employed a 1,200 strong workforce, means only two, smaller Bradford firms are left in the "combing" business.

And SMC Textiles, of Bowling, and Richmond Combing, of Lister Hills, are facing the same difficult economic conditions which proved too much for their rival.

Philip Brannan, director of Richmond Combing, said: "It's certainly not good for the industry for anybody to be closing down, but trading's been very tough for quite a few years and Whitehead has suffered, as we all have, because of cheap imports.

"We specialise in mohair, although we do comb wool too, so we've not been as susceptible but since the events in the US on September 11 orders have dried up - it's like someone has turned off a tap."