Workers staging a sit-in at Britain’s only significant wind turbine factory in an attempt to prevent its closure have accused managers of attempting to starve them out by blocking food supplies.

Last night, about 30 workers occupied the administrative block at the Vestas factory in Newport on the Isle of Wight. An attempt to deliver food supplies from a local supermarket was stopped by police at the factory gate yesterday evening, resulting in a stand-off with workers setting up camp outside the factory.

The Times revealed last week that the factory was closing down its production line within hours of the Government making a pledge to build 10,000 wind turbines — a fivefold increase on the present number — by 2020. More than 600 people are due to be made redundant on July 30 - 525 in Newport and 100 at a related facility in Southampton.

Mark Smith, one of those taking part in the sit-in, said that the workers were prepared to continue the occupation for several weeks but had emptied the plant’s vending machines and were down to their last few chocolate bars.

He said that Vestas managers had prevented workers outside the plant from delivering food parcels. Staff inside the plant had been throwing chocolate and bananas up to the first-floor balcony occupied by the protesters.

“The managers stopped that too. They seem to think they can starve us out but we are determined to stay as long as it takes,” he said.

“We want Vestas to come and talk to us about the redundancy package they have offered. But most importantly we want the government to nationalise the factory and save our jobs.

“They have been bailing out the banks so why not help people making products which help the world fight climate change? Ministers keep saying they want to create more green jobs but they are not lifting a finger to save our green jobs.” He said the occupiers had presented demands for nationalisation or better redundancy packages to the management, and were expecting a reply this morning.

Riot police entered the factory yesterday, but retreated, leaving the protesters in place. They draped the factory in banners reading “Gordon Brown — nationalise this”, and “Forced to occupy to save our jobs”.

Mr Smith said that the protesters had managed to obtain one food parcel by lowering a rope from the balcony to a supporter on the ground outside the factory. However, this supply route had now also been blocked.

Police said they were not allowing food to be taken in, at the request of the management, and that protesters who came out to eat would not be allowed back into the building.

Last night, officers had sealed off the factory, leaving the protesters occupying the top floor, while managers camped out in the lobby beneath them, cutting off the occupiers from supporters outside.

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