Final British bottle of HP sauce

Production is moving from the plant in the Aston area of the city to The Netherlands with the loss of 125 jobs.

The final shift finished work at 0600 GMT, although some will stay a few days longer to clean up the factory.

The closure has been opposed by unions and civic leaders but US owners Heinz decided the factory was not viable.

Businesses near to the factory launched a Save Our Sauce campaign and protests were held in Birmingham and outside the American Embassy in London in a bid to get the company to change its plans.

Birmingham City Council leaders met with Heinz managers to try to draw up fresh plans and MPs tried to get HP banned from tables inside the Houses of Parliament as it was no longer "a symbol of Britishness", but all to no avail.

Production team leader Danny Lloyd, who has worked at the factory for 18 years, said it was "like the bottom had fallen out" of the workers' worlds.

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