'Closing would be devastating for the town': anxiety over the future

AS you hop off the train at Yeovil Pen Mill, one of the first things you'll see is a sign reading “Welcome to the home of British helicopters”

- PHOEBE HOBBS

Yeovil is the self-proclaimed "home of British helicopters". But for how much longer?

(Phoebe Hobbs)

They might have to take that sign down soon.Yeovil’s main claim to fame is Leonardo, a defence company with a helicopter factory in town. The Italian defence firm employs about 3,000 people locally.

For one local shopkeeper, who asked to be anonymous, the company’s influence is inescapable: “I don’t know anybody who doesn’t know anybody who works there”

However, a chief executive has admitted there might not be a future for the factory after waiting almost 15 years for a government contract. Roberto Cingolani was quoted in The Times as saying: “It’s getting difficult for us to keep this big plant alive”