A FORMER employee of a bakery chain which has closed its Westbury branch claims workers have not been paid wages from the past five weeks after the company was placed into liquidation.

Bristol-based Parsons Bakery was set to take over nine of the 11 Bath Bakery branches on Friday but the deal fell through after the director suddenly placed the company into liqudation.

The owners of Parsons, which was started up 90 years ago, say they have salvaged a deal and will reopen in Westbury within the next week, but staff are still without their wages.

The former employee, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “We were under the impression the deal would be completed on Friday and we would be reopening on Monday after a deep clean over the weekend.

“But then the company director, Mark Slevin, put the company into liquidation which means we have not had our wages from the past five weeks.

“It’s a real shock to the system. There are single mothers who desperately need to be paid so they can pay rent – we all need to be paid.”

Parsons will offer jobs to employees who worked for Bath Bakery.

The former Bath Bakery branch in Bradford on Avon reopened as a Parsons on Monday.