I was at MG Rover for 15 years and you took it for granted that you had a job for life. I was there when British Aerospace decided to sell up also when BMW wanted to get rid. We all hoped and expected that somebody would come along and take over, so when it finally happened and that we had gone bust we were in shock and for many months later. I remember seeing so many grown men crying not knowing what to do next. One minute you had good wages going into your bank accounts next minute there was nothing.

They said there was help for all ex-employees in the aftermath but I do believe that was way over-exaggerated. I had to fight hard on my own, look for some kind of retraining or look for a new job but there was nothing.

Today I’m one of the lucky few that has managed to find full time work but I know of so many that are still five years on from the demise that are still trying to recover. People are going from one job to the next.