Two dozen workers at a cash-stricken internet company have been sacked and sent home without any wages, holiday or redundancy money.

The sackings come despite designer fashion stores pledging not to abandon Drivebusiness, which creates and operates electronic commerce sites on behalf of leading retailers.

The firm, which employed almost 100 staff at its headquarters in Dundonald, near Troon, Ayrshire, and had satellite offices in London and Los Angeles, continues to trade a week after directors placed the business in administration.

But joint administrators Rob Caven and John Montagu, of business and financial advisers Grant Thornton, have carried out an earlier threat and sacked a fifth of the workforce.

Insiders say 24 staff were told at the end of their shift on Monday they were being made redundant.

It is believed several complained about being owed a month's wages, as well as money for holidays that had not been taken. None were given payments in lieu of notice.

A Grant Thornton spokeswoman said: "I can confirm a number of redundancies have been made. I can also confirm the administrators have secured the support of customers to enable the business to continue to trade."

That has fuelled speculation a rescue package could be put together to protect the company, despite undisclosed but significant debts.

The remaining 70 staff believe attempts are being made behind the scenes to try to secure a buyer.

An interested party pulled out of talks days before owner Stephen Ritchie and his senior management team took the decision to put the company into voluntary administration.

Drivebusiness creates and manages internet sites for a string of leading fashion chains, including Ted Baker, Elvis Jesus, Bench and AllSaints.

But former staff are furious at being sacked while owned hundreds of pounds. Some claim they were told their lost wages would be paid by the JobCentre.

However, a spokeswoman for the Department of Work and Pensions, which operates the JobCentre network, said: "We do not pay for missing wages or where an employer has not paid redundancy pay."

But JobCentre officials will take immediate claims for benefits from affected staff, while Skills Development Scotland, which provides retraining for anyone caught up in large scale redundancies, is contacting the administrators to offer its services.