Window firm announces 15 lay offs

The job losses have been blamed on the downturn in the housing market

The County Londonderry window company, Hillcrest Group, has announced that it is laying off more than half its staff.

A spokesperson for the company said, on Monday, that 15 of its 23 employees had been laid off.

He said that the redundancies were necessary "because of the downturn in the housing market".

Hillcrest has factories in Campsie and Claudy, making windows and other components, such as metal partitions, for new build homes.