Maxwell twin Sylvia Hinton died yesterday after a fight against breast cancer. She was 61.

With her identical twin sister Cynthia, Sylvia was one of 11 people made redundant in February 1992 after working 38 years for disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell.

The sisters, of Wykeham Crescent, Cowley, joined the Nuffield Press printing firm, in Oxford, in 1953 when it was still part of Morris Motors.

They shot to national prominence after a devastating double blow when they lost their jobs at the press. As well as being told they would not receive any redundancy money, the twins faced losing the estimated £30,000 in each of their pension funds, raided by Maxwell to prop up his ailing business empire.

They received pension payments from the Maxwell trustees five years after being shown the door of the business where they had spent all their working lives. Cynthia, who recently went on holiday with her sister and held a joint birthday celebration ten days ago, said Sylvia died peacefully in her sleep.

She said: "She put up a brave fight, but it got her in the end."

Story date: Tuesday 12 October

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