AFTER 46 years, countless new car models and several different bosses, a Mini Plant worker has hung up his green and orange jacket for the final time.

Charles Gurden, a tooling engineer, first joined the plant as an apprentice when he was 16 in 1971.

Since then his career has taken him to Japan and seen him work on various new models including the Rover 600 and the latest Minis.

Mr Gurden, 62, says that he leaves an industry that is very different to the one he first started in but is confident the Mini Plant has a 'great future ahead.'

He said: "The industry as a whole has come through some dark times but it feels like there is a great resurgence at the moment.

"The plants that have remained open, like the one in Cowley, have got much stronger and I feel there is a great future ahead of us.

"We had some very uncertain times ourselves but we are still here, I have survived and we got through it and we are now going from strength to strength."

Starting on a technician apprenticeship, Mr Gurden worked as a product design engineer in the heater and air conditioning department before progressing to be a final process planner.

For the last 19 years of his career, the dad-of-one has worked in the special tools department and has been responsible for the design and manufacture of bespoke tools to make the car-production process easier.

Initially working for British Leyland which then became the Rover Group, Mr Gurden finishes his career working for BMW.

He says that since BMW took over the plant in 1994, 'there's been a 'huge emphasis' on providing high quality products and making the plant 'more modern.'

Mr Gurden himself drives a Mini but has preferred to cycle to work from his home in Horspath for most of his career.

He was presented with a mounted model of one of the tools he designed on his last day on Tuesday.

On leaving his job, Mr Gurden said he felt mixed emotions.

"It is quite emotional, I have very fond memories of my time here.

"It's sad to leave colleagues behind but there's also excitement at a new chapter in my life."

The church treasurer, who lives with wife Julie and son Ross, 16, says he hopes to ' live a long and happy life' in retirement.

Mini Plant Oxford technical planning department manager, Paul Cibulka, said: “Charles is an absolute gentleman – 100 per cent reliable and a fantastic guy to work with.”