FORMER steelworkers marked a milestone in their thriving business when they opened its £250,000 headquarters.

When the British Steel works in Consett closed in 1980, it struck a near-fatal blow, from which the town is still recovering.

Former steelworker Paul Jackson, born and bred in nearby Moorside, remembers it well. He said: "It was total devastation. The whole town revolved around the steel works and just about every family had at least one member employed there."

Two of his British Steel colleagues, Alan Swinburne and Ken Jose, set up a new business, Metallurgical Inspection Services, on an industrial estate in the shadow of the iron works.

They brought in Mr Jackson, who had left the works two years earlier and was working at Swan Hunter's shipyard on the Tyne.

He said: "My partners realised that they were not going to find employment and that they would have to go it alone and set up their own business.

"Working in the shipyards, I had to be multi-skilled. I picked up a lot of practical knowledge that enabled us to do a lot of technical jobs."

With Mr Jackson's connections and knowledge, the team specialised in metal testing in shipyards on the Tyne.

The firm has gradually become a leading specialist in environmental safety, particularly on issues surrounding asbestos. Mr Swinburne and Mr Jose have since retired and Mr Jackson has re-named the firm as MIS Environmental.

It employs more than 50 staff - five former steelworkers still among them - and the expansion meant the firm had to look for new premises.

Its purpose-built, £250,000 headquarters, Eden House, opened last week on the Watling Street Industrial Estate in Leadgate, near Consett.

Mr Jackson said: "The new headquarters will enable us to support other satellite offices and we hope to expand into other areas of the UK." North West Durham MP Hilary Armstrong performed the official opening and praised the firm's efforts.

She said: "The closure of the British Steel works in the early Eighties was a real trauma for the town and the district.

"However, the company left behind a legacy of skilled people committed to reviving the local economy and companies such as MIS stuck around, built new markets and generated new jobs for local people."