Nearly 6,000 UK jobs at LDV, the troubled vanmaker, are at risk after Weststar of Malaysia pulled out of rescue talks.

LDV employs 840 workers at its Birmingham factory and a further 5,000 staff, employed by suppliers and manufacturers, are reliant on the business.

Workers were sent home today after LDV was forced to reapply for administration when Weststar pulled out of the deal.

It has emerged that Weststar asked the Government for a further £45 million in funds but its "unacceptable" request was rejected because of the "significant risk with taxpayers' money."

Weststar was granted a £5 million bridging loan in May to help fund LDV's operations while talks continued.

However, a spokesman for LDV said that only "a fraction" of the Government's bridging loan had been released.

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR) said that the £5 million loan had been made available to Weststar and that it was the company's decision not to call down further funding.

It ruled out any further help for the company, saying it was "ready to offer support to the workers" through the Jobcentre.

A huge slump in demand for vans saw LDV halt production in Birmingham in mid-December.

However, an application for administration was withdrawn after an agreement from Weststar to buy the business from its Russian parent, Gaz Group, at the start of May.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, although it was subject to due diligence, financing and various approvals.

About 80 workers had gone back to the factory and many of the remainder had expected to return when the Weststar deal was completed.

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