CONTRACTORS performing a £750,000 refurbishment of West Kirby's Marine Lake have disappeared off site half way through the job, the Globe can reveal.

Wirral Council only awarded the work to Pierse Contracting Limited in February, but the firm – a subsidiary of one of Ireland’s largest – says it is now in the process of "an orderly wind down" of its UK operations.

The council – who said they had "no concerns" about the company when they gave it the contract - insists it is "confident" that the repair work on the lake’s walkway will continue after the Wilson Trophy sailing event, which starts this weekend.

The council’s director of technical services Dave Green says there is a "contingency plan" in place, according to a spokeswoman.

But Wirral West Labour MP Stephen Hesford is now demanding to know how the contract was awarded in the first place, and local Tory group leader Jeff Green has called for an inquiry.

Last August, a winding up petition was lodged against Pierse Contracting at the High Court, and then adjourned.

The following month Pierse joined Wirral Council's tendering process for the award of the Marine Lake repairs, and it was eventually handed the contract in February this year.

An engineers' report had said the lake's outer wall was crumbling and would eventually be too dangerous to allow visitors to walk along it.

As work began, the lake was drained and the programme was believed to be ahead of schedule before Pierse staff withdrew from the site last week, to the astonishment of local residents.

The Globe understands that a further winding up petition has been lodged against the company's southern operations, due to be heard in the High Court this Wednesday, April 29.

Our investigations have also revealed that the company, whose UK operations are based in Northwich, has six County Court Judgements against it for non-payments dating back to 2007, although all have been settled.

Wednesday's court case relates to an unpaid £18,500 bill to a plumbing firm in Chipstead, Surrey.

Business information service Equifax, who provide standard financial checks open to the likes of Wirral Council, had also issued three "cautions" against the company.

Pierse also has a zero credit rating – meaning companies are advised not to extend any credit to it.

Because the matter is officially listed as an "exempt" item by the council – not for public consumption – councillors are restricted in what they can say.

But Conservative group leader Jeff Green believes that exemption should be lifted and is demanding a full inquiry.

He told the Globe: "I am astonished that this state of affairs has been allowed to happen and I will be demanding a full inquiry into how this situation could have arisen.

"I am instructed by the leader of the council and the borough solicitor that the matter is exempt but I will be contacting the borough solicitor to say that I believe that this is a matter of public interest and that the exemption should be lifted."

And Wirral West MP Stephen Hesford said the issue raises very serious questions.

He said: "I want to know whether these contractors were ever likely to have delivered this major project for West Kirby on time and equally importantly, what checks were done by the council before the contract was awarded to try to ensure this type of collapse wasn't about to happen?

"I also want to know, in clear and precise terms, exactly what contingency plans the council has to see the work is completed as per programme.

"My constituents will rightly be worried by this latest and very unwelcome setback for the town."

Callers to Pierse’s UK offices were greeted by answering machine, and no response to the Globe's queries had been received by the time of publication.

A spokesman for their parent company in Ireland would only confirm that its UK divisions were "in the process of an orderly wind down” that he said had been on the agenda for “several months".

Asked why they had accepted the Wirral Council work in February knowing they were to close their operations, the spokesman was unable to comment.

It is not yet clear if the council has paid Pierse the full £750,000 in advance, or if a new tendering process would now have to take place.

A Wirral Council spokeswoman said: "We are aware that there is an issue and are actively seeking clarification. Until then we are unable to comment on their trading status.

"The work was ahead of programme and has now paused, as scheduled to allow the Marine Lake to fill up in time for the Wilson Trophy which begins on May 1.

"We are very confident that works will continue as programmed after the two week stoppage for the Wilson Trophy.

"The council's procurement method does include amongst other things financial checks. This information is provided through Construction Line, which is owned and endorsed by the Department of Trade and Industry.

"Those checks raised no concerns about the selected contractor at the time.

"The council selected contractors to tender in September 2008 based on companies who had met pre-set criteria.

"The checks made on those selected raised no concerns. The contract was awarded in February 2009."