THE last bottle of HP sauce to be made in the UK rolled off the production line yesterday morning.

Production of the condiment ended at the company's factory, in Aston, Birmingham, at 6am, marking the end of 108 years of sauce-making.

Parent company Heinz will move production to the Netherlands, with the loss of 120 jobs.

Joe Clarke, spokesman for the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) in the West Midlands, said the closure was a devastating blow for the workforce and for Birmingham.

Heinz's decision last August to move production out of the UK prompted a wave of public support for the factory - nearby businesses started a Save Our Sauce campaign, MPs tried to get the condiment banned from the House of Commons, and even workers at the new factory in the Netherlands objected to the move.

Earlier this week, a protestor dressed as John Bull climbed the factory tower to mark the loss of a British institution.