Production at Vauxhall in Luton comes to an end

Vehicle production at Vauxhall's Luton plant has come to an end after 120 years of the company being based in the town.

Parent company Stellantis announced the van plant's closure in November as it planned to move its electric van production to another site in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

A worker, who was too upset to be named, said it was the "end of an era", as the last Vauxhall Vivaro rolled off the production line at 12:18 GMT.

It has been estimated more than 1,000 jobs have been put at risk by the move.

Stellantis said it was investing £50m "to strengthen the Ellesmere Port plant as its UK commercial vehicle hub".

There would now be a period to transfer machinery and process knowledge to Ellesmere Port, it said.

• Dad and daughter's sadness at end of Vauxhall era

"Our employees always remain our priority, and we continue to act responsibly towards our colleagues in Luton," said a spokesperson.

However, Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Stellantis's betrayal of its Luton workforce, who have delivered every target asked of them, is a total disgrace."

Steve Brown said there were mixed emotions as the last van rolled off the assembly line, calling it a "sad, sad day", but he said the atmosphere was "excellent".

"I've done 34 years, but life goes on, we'll go on. The people and the company - we've had some good times and it's been great."

Josh Scrutton said he was going to miss his payslip the most, as he had worked for the company for about two years and said it was "good pay".

"It's the best job I've had. Everyone was waiting for last van to come out, everyone stayed," he said.

Muhammad Basharat, who had worked at the factory for 24 years, said it was "very sad" and he was now looking for work in the building trade.

Iftikhar Raja added there was "a lot of history and memories here".

The former quality controller said he had worked for the company for five years and "there were just no words".

He said his job supported his family and "I've learnt a lot", but he did not know what was next for him.

Vauxhall, which started manufacturing cars in 1903, relocated to a newly built industrial estate in Luton in 1905.

In 2000, then owners General Motors announced the car factory in Luton would close and in 2002 that plant was shut, with about 1,900 job losses.

In recent times, Luton Borough Council expressed an interest in buying the land used for the van-making factory, but said it had not been successful.