TATA looks set to confirm it will sell it's Hartlepool Pipe Mill

Indian steel giant Tata is being urged not to allow its biggest UK plant to"wither on the vine" as speculation mounts that the company is to announce the sale of part of its assets.

The firm looks set to confirm that it will sell its speciality steel business,which employs 2,000 workers in Hartlepool, Rotherham and Stocksbridge.

The move would increase uncertainty among workers in the rest of Tata'soperations, including the country's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in SouthWales.

Tata has been assessing several bids for weeks after announcing earlier this year that it was selling its loss-making UK business.

Speculation has been growing that it will sell off its speciality steelbusiness but will continue to assess options for the rest of its plants.

Unite warned Tata against "walking away" from Port Talbot in a few years'time after leaving it to "wither on the vine".