Gordon Brown has warned that thousands of public sector workers will lose their jobs if Conservatives win the General Election.

Every family in Britain can be expected to be "targeted" by an emergency budget slashing £6 billion from public spending if Tories win power, Mr Brown told an audience in Sunderland.

Mr Brown's speech was interrupted by a persistent heckler, who was bundled out of the room at the National Glass Centre by Labour members.

IT worker Julian Borthwick, 38, said he was concerned at the lack of fast broadband in the North East and angered that the tightly controlled Labour election campaign had limited ordinary voters' access to the Prime Minister.

"Real politicians are going around talking to real people," he told reporters later. "Mr Brown is not doing that."

Labour supporters angrily shouted down Mr Borthwick as Mr Brown continued with his speech.