SHOCKED staff found themselves jobless and customers were left in the lurch when a country house hotel closed suddenly.

Tearful employees at Howfield Manor Hotel in Chartham Hatch, near Canterbury, have been told by administrators Ernst and Young that the business was closing.

Eighteen people have lost their jobs and a chef who lived on the premises has also lost his home.

Ernst and Young have been running the 12th century manor house since its owner Swallow Hotels went into administration in September, but the administrators decided to close it after attempts to find a buyer for the lease failed.

A spokesman for Ernst and Young said: "We had obviously tried to keep on trading at the site for as long as possible, but it was not making money and there comes a time when we have to make a decision."

* SEE THE KENTISH GAZETTE (NOVEMBER 23) FOR THE FULL STORY.