A NORTH-East company hopes to bring some Turkish delight to the world of British diplomacy.

Specialist manufacturer Hugh Mackay Carpets, of Durham City, has supplied carpets for Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Sandringham, the Tower of London, Harrods, the Dutch Royal Palace in The Hague and Finland's Presidential Palace in Helsinki.

Now the company, which was founded in 1903, has won the contract to produce a custom-made carpet for the official residence of the British Ambassador to Turkey, Peter Westmacott.

The company, which has 275 employees across Europe and a factory at Meadowfield, near Durham, will make 150sq m of carpet for the main staircase and hallways of the residence in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Nigel Foxall, the company's export sales director, said: "We are hoping that the recent contract to supply the British Ambassador's place of residence in Turkey will hold us in a good position for providing carpets for other prestigious locations.''

The company won the contract with help from Trade Partners UK and is hoping foreign dignitaries will be so impressed more orders will follow.