As bailed-out bankers celebrate the return of bonuses, life is not looking so rosy for 13-year-old Kane Middleton and his hamster. He has become one of the youngest workers to lose his job during the recession.

The teenager from Clophill, Bedford, has been made officially redundant from his paper round with no prospect of a payoff, leaving him short of money to spend on his pet hamster, Splodge.

Kane received his notice from Letterbox Direct in the post last week. It read: "It is with considerable regret that we write to inform you that your contract of employment with Letterbox Direct will be terminated for reasons of redundancy with effect from 19 October.

"You will not be required to work your notice period and therefore this date will be your last date of employment within the company.

"We have fully assessed opportunities for redeployment within the company but there appears to be no suitable alternative jobs available at present."

The letter assured Kane, who began his paper round in August, that the decision was nothing to do with the standard of his work but was "purely based on marketing data". He was paid between £6 and £7 a week to deliver the local freesheet, the Mid Beds Times & Citizen. The letter said he would receive one week's pay in lieu of notice, which amounted to £6.93, but that his redundancy package would be nought weeks statutory redundancy equating to nought pounds.

"I was quite upset because I couldn't buy anything for my hamster any more," said Kane. "I thought the letter was a bit strange."

His mother Jocelyn, 57, a clerk in an electronics company, said the letter was "not the sort of language a child would understand" and her son would "have to come cap in hand" to his parents now.

A Letterbox Direct spokeswoman said it had done everything by the book. "It does seem quite an extreme measure but that's what you've got to do these days."