MG Rover worker Robert Haslam has been struck a bitter double blow - he is anxiously waiting to learn if he still has a job just months after being diagnosed with cancer.

The 49-year-old, who has dedicated 31 years to the company, was struggling to come to terms with his condition after learning in February that he has tongue cancer.

Mr Haslam, from Northfield, Birmingham, said it was like a "second stab of the knife" when he found out he may also lose his job after MG Rover's deal with the Chinese company SAIC broke down while he underwent chemotherapy.

Mr Haslam, an environmental technician for MG Rover, said: "Finding out I had cancer was devastating to me and my wife Deborah, but I threw myself into the chemotherapy in a bid to keep my mind off it.

"I tried to stay positive for her sake although some days I don't even want to speak about the cancer and feel like curling up in a dark room.

"But when I heard about all the trouble with Rover it was like the second stab of the knife.

"I thought that my future was secure there if I beat the cancer and I can't believe that this has happened to me as well."

Mr Haslam said he was shocked to learn he had cancer after initially being given antibiotics from doctors who thought it might have been a throat infection.

But when they did not work, he returned to the doctors who referred him to hospital for a biopsy.

He was at home after a chemotherapy session when he learned about Rover's fate on television.

He said: "I couldn't believe what I was seeing and was in a state of shock.

"It seemed to happen so quickly and I tried calling my colleagues at Rover to see what was going on but they said it was chaos there.

"It makes it all the more frustrating that I'm not there myself as I don't have any control over the situation and can't find out what is happening.

"I've had a letter through saying my job is safe until the end of the month but after that who knows.

"Like all the other workers I'm worried about how I'm going to pay the bills but we just have to see what happens now. The stress of worrying about my job is not helping my health."

Mr Haslam is going through his second course of chemotherapy at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in a bid to destroy the cancer.

He said: "The chemotherapy is starting to take effect and the hospital says that it is looking positive so I'm keeping my fingers crossed."