The man who built the R2-D2 robots which featured in the Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, bought some of the parts from Woolworths in Witney.

Trained sculptor John Jostins made eight R2-D2s at a workshop in Crawley Mill, Witney, between January 1979 and Easter of the same year.

It is a little-known county link to the Star Wars phenomenon in the run-up to the cinema release of the sixth film in the series, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on May 19.

The mill in Witney had been transformed into mini industrial workshops and was chosen by Star Wars creator George Lucas himself.

Mr Jostins, 49, said: "Apparently George Lucas had come across some rocking horses made there by a company called the White Horse Toy Company and was so impressed by their workmanship he sent us there too.

"Two of the R2-D2s were built to house the actor Kenny Baker, three of them were remote control R2-D2s with motors for use in the corridors in action shots and the other three were used for pyrotechnics, essentially to be blown up.

"The R2-D2s were made from moulds using glass reinforced plastic, with particular attention paid to the interior finish," added Mr Jostins.

"This was because Kenny Baker complained about the inside of previous models, saying they were too sharp.

"So we designed a more ergonomic model for him which involved buying towel rails from Woolworths that were then fixed inside for him to hold onto.

"A pair of white, children's wellington boots, also bought from Woolworths, were fixed inside to stabilise him and there was a children's car seat fixed into the interior for when he needed to be in a semi-standing position."

Mr Jostins was one of four designers who worked on the models at Crawley Mill. "I was living in Warwickshire but we were working 12 hours a day, seven days a week on the models, so I stayed at a B&B near Brize Norton," he said.

"At the time I never dreamed that Star Wars would go on to be so popular and still be making films now," he added.

"A few years ago my son Ben asked me if I really made R2-D2 and if so, how I got him up there, into the sky!"

After Star Wars, Mr Jostins and his fellow designers stayed on at the mill for a time and made models for Superman and Dr Who, including the famous Cybermen.

He is now working on a prototype for a ecologically friendly vehicle called 'Microcab' and is a part-time lecturer on an MA in Design and Digital Media course at Coventry University.