The stadium arch is more than 400ft tall

Cleveland Bridge UK has issued legal proceedings against the stadium's main contractor Multiplex.

It says the proceedings are for alleged breach of contract and claims Multiplex owes it money.

The company says it is to begin consultation on the proposed redundancies at its Darlington plant.

'Very disappointed'

Cleveland Bridge supplied a huge steel arch costing �60m, which is the centrepiece of the new ground.

Brian Rogan, the company's deputy managing director, said: "Naturally we are very disappointed that we find ourselves in this situation.

"We are doing everything in our power to replace the fabrication work for Wembley Stadium by bringing forward other projects

"We had no other choice than to instigate legal action against Multiplex and we made this very tough decision for the benefit of the company as a whole."

'Workforce devastated'

The proposed redundancies will affect 30 staff and 65 manual operative jobs, according to the company.

Gerry Hunter from the union Amicus told the BBC that the workforce is devastated over the job losses.

He said: "Management announced that we're to lose 95 employees - 65 from the shop floor: platers, welders, and fabricators, along with 30 staff.

"The number gave us a shock because it will bring the shop floor down to the lowest numbers in 40 years."

A spokeswoman for Multiplex said the firm had no comment at the moment.