UP TO 1,900 jobs are under threat after a leading engineering company announced it was to stop making trains in the UK.

French firm Alstom said production will cease at its factory in Birmingham after its current contract to build tilting trains for Virgin ends next year.

The plant has been building trains for 100 years, but the company said it had no other contracts in the pipeline after Virgin's train orders.

Alstom also announced that tube trains for the London Underground will be built abroad rather that in the UK.

The firm said the future of the UK rail industry would clearly involve few contracts for new rolling stock.

Alstom, a global specialist in energy and transport infrastructure, has operations in Middlesbrough and Newcastle, both of which are unaffected by the announcement.

The company would not say how many jobs will be lost in the Midlands, but union officials said they feared a huge number of the 1,900 workforce will be affected.

Paul Barron, vice-president of Alstom Transport UK, described the news as very regrettable, and said: "Given the depressed UK rolling stock market, we have no other option.

"We intend to remain a strong player in the UK rail industry, and are reorganising ourselves to respond to the new market opportunities."