THE Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engine - which the firm's Barnoldswick plant makes components for - has just passed its latest test with flying colours.

The engine has undergone a test to simulate 3,000 operational flights which would take more than three years in normal service.

"This is the most severe endurance test we have ever undertaken and its successful conclusion is another milestone in what has been an excellent development programme," said Alan Eccleston, Rolls-Royce's assistant chief engineer.

The Barnoldswick factory makes wide chord fan blades and front bearing housings for the Trent 800.

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