Ford has marked the closure of its Transit plant in Southampton by donating three of the last Transit minibuses built at the factory to local organisations with long-standing ties to the Southampton plant.

Two of the minibuses were donated to Naomi House children’s hospice and The Cedar School, both of which have long-standing ties with Southampton employees at the Ford plant.

The third minibus was donated to Southampton City Council, in recognition of the firm’s long-standing relationship with the city and its community.

The council’s white, nine-seater minibus was handed over to The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Southampton (Councillor Ivan White) by Southampton operations manager, John Oldham, and will be used by Southampton charities and organisations across the city as a community bus.

Ford is no longer the major employer it used to be in the city, but it has been able to re-employ 134 employees at its new Vehicle Refurbishment Centre, which has opened on the existing Ford site at Swaythling and is the result of a £12m investment in the future of the site. The new facility will prepare vehicles for sale through Ford Direct, the company’s approved use sales program.