It has been at the heart of the UK’s van manufacturing industry for more than five decades.

But the last Transit van has rolled off the production line at Ford’s factory in Southampton.

Production at the Swaythling plant was due to officially cease today, 41 years after the first fully-assembled van was built there.

Shop floor workers and management were expected to be clearing their lockers and desks and toasting the past – and future – at a barbecue organised by the firm.

Workers have been preparing for this day since the announcement last October that Transit van manufacturing in Swaythling would end and production shifted to Turkey.

Mark Garner, 51, from Bitterne Park, Southampton, described the atmosphere inside the plant, which opened in 1953. He said: “It’s a really eerie feeling inside. It’s like a ghost town in there.

“We have been trying to cheer each other up. We have had a celebration among ourselves to say goodbye to everyone.

“I’ve been here 25 years. I am going to have six months off and get a part time job next year.”

UK Independence Party supporters, including Hampshire county councillors Ray Finch and Andy Moore, held a protest outside the factory against the European Union’s decision to hand Ford an £80m loan to support Transit manufacturing in Turkey.

Cllr Finch said: “When they started doing this I said all of the jobs would go. I stood here on the picket line with the lads and the other parties.

“We were the only ones who have consistently spoken about this. Now the other parties have jumped on this but it’s too late. We now have to ensure this sort of thing never happens again. They are selling our jobs to Turkey with our own money.”

No one from Ford management was available to comment but the company has stressed that there have been no compulsory redundancies among the 500-strong workforce.

Around 300 agency workers at the Swaythling plant are also losing their jobs.

The company has not yet said what it plans to do with the site of which it owns 40 per cent. Another 40 per cent is owned by property firm Balmoral and the rest by the city council.

Ford will maintain its presence in Southampton by opening a vehicle distribution centre and refurbishment centre at the docks.