UP TO 3,000 Worcestershire jobs could be axed if Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt blocks the merger of two mail order firms.

Unions and MPs have started a campaign for March UK to be allowed to merge with GUS Home Shopping. This company includes the former Kays Catalogue empire, now named Reality.

GUS employs 2,406 people at its head office, warehouses and depots in Worcester, with a further 468 work at its distribution centre in Droitwich.

March UK, which owns Littlewoods, agreed a deal to buy GUS for £450m, with the two businesses wanting to merge to put them in a better position to fight off increased competition from the internet and new catalogue rivals.

But Ms Hewitt ordered a full Competition Commission inquiry into the deal, which is now on hold.

She warned of a "substantial lessening of competition" in mail order shopping if the merger went ahead.

City MP Mike Foster held a crisis meeting with his colleagues at Westminster this week to draw up a strategy for lobbying Ms Hewitt. She is expected to announce a decision on December 23.

"The implications to Worcester of such large scale job losses would be devastating," he told the Evening News.

"Home shopping is facing major competition from across the retail sector - not just the home shopping sector.

"The increased use of the internet, easy credit availability, and high street shops launching their own catalogues all pose real competition to GUS - that is what the Competition Commission should be considering, not home shopping in isolation."

He added: "These two major companies are seeking to merge to become as efficient as possible in order to continue to compete in a tough environment and to protect the thousands of local jobs that are at stake.

"It is ludicrous that the Commission is even considering turning down the merger. To do so would be bad for business, bad for the consumer and bad locally for thousands of people who may lose their jobs."

Peter Luff MP said today he was "unhappy" about the potential blocking of the merger, which he sees as the best way to secure jobs in the city.

He has added his name to a letter from MPs, urging Patricia Hewitt not to block the proposed merger.

"I have been briefed by March UK and from what I can see, the merger's in the best interests of local jobs and the future of the business, and no one in Worcester has told me any differently.

"You have to look at the total retail market, not just the catalogue sector."

Unions and MPs have stepped into the row fearing up to 19,000 jobs could be axed nationwide unless she clears the merger as GUS and March will struggle to survive if they are forced to take on their new rivals alone.