Seven hundred staff at the Parker Pen factory in Newhaven face an uncertain wait over the next three months to see if their jobs are safe.

American owner Gillette is deciding what to with its stationery division.

The factory in Railway Road is the biggest employer in the town and Gillette says a decision on its future will be made over the next three months.

Paul Fox, communications director of Gillette Group Europe said: "We are keeping all options open"

These are thought to include closure or a drastically slimmed-down operation with hundreds of redundancies.

Another alternative is to sell the plant to another pen or stationery company, or expand.

There has been intense speculation surrounding the future of the factory, which has been in Newhaven since the early part of last century.

It has been the largest employer in the town since the Second World War and at one time in the Seventies employed 900.

Recently the company has seen a resurgence in sales of the stationery products produced at the factory, including the latest Parker pens, Paper Mate and Waterman products.

The first three months of this year have been one of the stationery division's best-ever quarters.

Concern about the future prompted local MP Norman Baker to discuss the situation with management.

After the meeting Mr Baker said: "Gillette told me it is committed to finding a solution to its stationery business.

"The Parker Pen Factory is very important to Newhaven and I intend to do all I can to ensure it survives and prospers.

"I was pleased to hear the plant is doing well and pleased by the openness of Gillette."

In March the packaging operation at Newhaven was moved to South Wales.

The accountancy and marketing company Merill Lynch has been looking at the Newhaven operation on behalf of Gillette.

Mr Fox said: "Once we have assessed the report from Merill Lynch we will make a decision.

"Nothing has been ruled in or out. I will say our sales from Newhaven have been very good in the last quarter."