A HEDGE End based construction company has clinched a £3.5m deal to build a contact lens production plant at Hamble.

Benson Ltd, which has been based locally for five years and employs 55 staff, has won the contract to construct the new facility for Coopervision, a company that has grown over the years to become one of the world's leading manufacturers of contact lens.

Grahame Pettit, Benson's regional general manager, said: "Our first job is to demolish and clear the large industrial units formerly occupied by a number of companies. The new 67,000 square feet Coopervision premises will be completed by February."