First off, two current trainees in Halliwells’ City office saw their jobs canned and now it emerges that around forty-five trainees who were due to start their training contracts in the next 12 months have had their offers terminated.

Although Hill Dickinson has offered a lifeline to a handful of the trainees that were due to join, most of the remaining intake for August 2010 and January and June 2011, will have to go back to square one and reapply for training contracts elsewhere.

A brutal reality for the unfortunates.