A MAN who played a key role in bringing train building back to the birthplace of the railways said the venture had been "probably the proudest moment of my career".

Stewart Watkins, 65, today (Thursday, July 18) retired as managing director of Business Durham on the day that Hitachi Rail Europe secured a £1.2bn train contract for its Newton Aycliffe plant.

Mr Watkins, who hails from Ebbw Vale in the Welsh Valleys, has spent the last 35 years as part of Durham County Council's team that works to bring jobs and investment to the region.

It is estimated that he played a leading part in schemes that have created 60,000 jobs in the area.

Following the demise of heavy industry across the region in the 1980s he led campaigns to encourage local people to set up their own firms. He helped persuade overseas companies, such as Fujitsu, NSK and Black and Decker, to open factories in County Durham.

Among the successful projects he has had a hand in was the development of Netpark hi-tech business park in Sedgefield.

"I have loved every minute of it," he told The Northern Echo, from the Aycliffe site where Hitachi will build its state-of-the-art train factory.

"There have been some very dark days and no one would suggest that everything is perfect nowadays. But, I genuinely believe the area is in a good place with some fantastic companies and to have played a part in that gives me a good feeling.

"The Hitachi factory is a symbol of an area - proud of its industrial heritage, but also innovative and forward-thinking - that refuses to lie down and die."