A college which is unable to pay its suppliers because of cash problems has brought in a top public relations company.

Bosses at City College Brighton and Hove have signed a deal with Cobb PR, which will see them take over the centre’s media management from today.

On Monday, The Argus exclusively revealed the centre had failed to pay a number of its suppliers – with documents seen by this newspaper suggesting the total amount owed was in the tens of thousands.

The following day, the college’s under-fire principal and chief executive Lynn Thackway resigned, citing a family illness.

Recovery plan Yesterday, we revealed students had been left in limbo after the cash-hit college was unable to pay exam boards.

We also revealed the Government’s Further Education Commissioner is set to visit this week to monitor the college’s financial recovery plan.

Cobb PR is one of the most highly regarded PR companies in Sussex.

With offices in Eastbourne and Brighton, the company’s clients include Legal & General, Southern Water, South East Water, Brighton and Hove Albion, Eastbourne Borough Council and Sussex County Cricket Club.

They are headed by former Argus journalist Tim Cobb, who has a number of decades of experience in the media and with media management. One of the company’s specialities is dealing with what they describe as “crisis management”.

In a message on its website the company states: “Cobb PR will quickly identify potential PR crisis incidents from high-risk areas of your business and establish a PR risk management plan that will minimise damage to the reputation of your company.

“If you are anxious about facing the media in a crisis situation, let us take away the stress.

“We can be the public face of your company, absorb the media pressure and let you get on with sorting out the crisis away from the public glare.”

The PR company refused to reveal how much the contract is worth.

Alex Knutsen, Unison branch secretary, said that while there were “concerns” over the amount paid, he understood why the college was keen to protect its image and reputation.

He said: “Further education is a cut-throat business these days. They need to get numbers through the door to secure funding. And with the leaving age increased to 18, there is a lot more competition these days.

“They told us [the unions] about it this afternoon and there were a few raised eyebrows.

“There certainly is a concern about how much they have paid.”

The Argus understands the PR company is under contract with the under-fire college for only a number of weeks.