INSURANCE adviser Stewart Newman says he is the unluckiest worker in Sussex after being made redundant from two jobs in just four weeks.

The Argus revealed last week that Eagle Star was closing its Brighton office with the loss of more than 150 jobs.

It was the latest batch of redundancies in the insurance industry in Sussex, with 650 posts being axed in recent months.

Stewart, 23, had been with Eagle Star for just three weeks before the redundancies were announced.

He had joined from Royal and Sun Alliance, which closed its customer service centre in Brighton last month.

But Stewart, of Providence Terrace, Worthing, insists he is not bitter.

He said: "When I lost my job at Royal and Sun Alliance it was a bit of a blow at first. It was my first full-time job and nothing like that had ever happened to me before.

"When I left I was offered five jobs, but chose to go to Eagle Star because it seemed to have a good working environment.

"But you have got to stay optimistic. If it happened to me a third time I would seriously begin to think I had run out of luck."

Eagle Star decided to close its Brighton office in Lancaster House, Trafalgar Place, after it failed to agree terms with the Alliance and Leicester to renew a work contract which runs out at the end of this year.

The company, which has been operating in the town for more than 35 years, says it will do everything it can to redeploy staff.

Stewart said older staff at Eagle Star, some of whom have been with the company more than 25 years, had been left devastated.

He added: "There were a few tears. Generally the staff are quite young, but there are a few older people who feel quite bitter because they think they may struggle to find something else."

Stewart said: "Personally I think you can turn it into a positive thing. It gives you a kick to go and do something else."

Stewart reckons his upbeat attitude towards his spate of bad luck comes from being a player for Brighton Bears basketball team.

He said: "In basketball you have to remain optimistic and postive-minded in all your games. You have to pick yourself up and I try to be the same in life."

His long-term ambition now is to become a full-time basketball coach and player.

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