THRILLED workers from Leyland Trucks were given the royal seal of approval when the Prince of Wales visited on Thursday last week.

The factory was the final port of call on his whistlestop tour which took in four venues round Preston, including Deepdale football ground where he met Tom Finney.

Prince Charles toured the plant, meeting directors, office staff and shop floor workers before driving the 50,000th 7.5 tonne truck to come off the assembly line. And HRH was clearly impressed with what he saw: "Leyland Trucks has an enormous role to play in the regeneration of Lancashire and it must be incredibly rewarding to see the 50,000th truck come off the line," he said.

Brakes technician Larry Wynn sat in the truck with the Prince as he drove through a ribbon to a standing ovation. He said: "He's a brilliant driver, but when you've flown planes and driven ships I suppose this is simple!"

Other staff were delighted as the royal visitor took time out to chat about work at the site and praised the company's efforts in finding its feet after the receivers were called in four years ago.

Area co-ordinator Jed Doherty, of St Anne's Road, Leyland, said: "It's the icing on the cake. It's good to see he's supporting British exports."

The Prince presented Quality Team Awards to employees before speaking to the massed ranks of staff on the shop floor.

Leyland Trucks executive chairman John Gilchrist said: "It is a wonderful boost for morale."

South Ribble MP David Borrow agreed: "Leyland Trucks is a flagship company in terms of the relationship between management and staff. The Prince's visit will give a big boost to the staff and the town as a whole."

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