AS many as 140 Scottish textile workers are facing the threat of redundancy following the collapse of yet another clothing manufacturer, the fourth blow to the industry in less than a week.

They work on production at Cumbernauld-based Edward Macbean & Co. A further 200 English-based staff at sock-makers Hollas Hosiery are also affected, along with 20 employees at the Cheshire headquarters of the Hollas Group.

Other Hollas subsidiaries, including Textilion and Hollas Garments, were said to be operating normally, but their financial positions were being reviewed.

The group posted pre-tax losses last year of #1.52m on a #97.7m turnover. Receivers Price Waterhouse were called in on Friday.

Staff at Edward Macbean, which makes protective clothing for the Ministry of Defence, police, and local authorities, yesterday complained of being kept in the dark about the move.

Two other textile companies in Scotland announced job cuts last week, and a third said it was seeking a buyer.

Mr Iain Bennet, of Price Waterhouse in Glasgow, will visit the Edward Macbean site today to assess its future. He said production was continuing although the fate of the workers was uncertain.

He added: ''We will try to keep it in production and find a buyer. Without having had a chance to go through the figures, I don't yet know if that will be feasible.

''There is uncertainty and part of our role is to minimise that uncertainty and reach clear decisions fairly quickly.''

He added that the Scottish textile industry was suffering at the moment, partly because of the strength of the pound and competition from cheap foreign imports.

Mr Bennet said the company - which was taken over by Hollas four years ago in a #4.5m deal - had suffered a number of ''ups and downs'' in recent years.

Meanwhile, staff at Edward Macbean complained that they had discovered about the companies falling into receivership only through the media.

One employee, who has been with the company for many years, said: ''Everybody was kept in the dark, nobody knew it was this serious.

''There had been about 30 redundancies, but we never thought it would turn out to be something so serious as this, we thought the company would recover.

''This is worrying, especially when you only find out about it in the press.''

Hollas made the announcement a day after Scottish textile company Dawson International said it might seek a buyer for its business and the Sweater Shop had called in the receivers, with the loss of 73 jobs at its factory in Cumnock, Ayrshire.

Grampian Brands also said last week that it would be laying off 120 workers at sites in Coatbridge and Lanark.

Two of the three firms blamed the strong pound and a corresponding slump in export sales for the downturn in business.