A Dereham-based company which specialises in returning people's lost pets and belongings has been forced to shut down with more than 20 people losing their jobs.

A Dereham-based company which specialises in returning people's lost pets and belongings has been forced to shut down with more than 20 people losing their jobs.

NSB Ltd, trading as Keepsafe, was founded in 1994 by Andy Keats and Romek Kriwald, and now more than 1.3 million people use the company's visible identification service for pets, luggage, keys and other belongings.

But despite more than 12,000 new customers joining Keepsafe every month, Mr Keats said the company has had to close because of a dispute with its credit card processor WorldPay, which it uses to process most of its revenue.

Mr Keats said the company, based at Breckland Business Centre, has been forced to lay off 24 staff, and he added that when he delivered the news to them on Friday , he was overwhelmed by their support, with many saying they would love to work with him again in the future.

He stressed that the company's services would continue to run for existing members via another company's call centre in Cambridge.

“Since October 20 WorldPay has withheld all the company's revenue, now amounting to over £80,000.

“Although all the staff's wages have been paid for November, WorldPay has declined to release any further funds,” he said, adding that Keepsafe had processed its credit card transactions with WorldPay for six years, with transactions totalling more than £4m and chargebacks just £1,525.88.

He said Keepsafe had been trying to resolve the current issue with WorldPay for the past month but without any “meaningful dialogue.”

“Our immediate thoughts go out to our loyal and dedicated staff who have worked tirelessly within the business.

“We thank them for all their support and dedication over the past 13 years which has contributed to Keepsafe becoming the largest visible identification service for pets in the UK.

“Keepsafe apologises to its suppliers whose invoices remain unpaid whilst all our funds are withheld by WorldPay.

“Keepsafe is dedicated to ensuring that all customers and their pets will continue to be protected 24 hours a day in the event that a pet should go missing.

“Finders of pets with a Keepsafe tag will be able to contact an emergency operator who will then locate and contact the owner of the pet to secure its safe return,” he said, adding that the same was true for people who use the company's other services.

A spokesman for WorldPay said the company could not comment.