A DURHAM company is hoping overseas diplomacy will bring home luxury orders.

Specialist manufacturer Hugh Mackay Carpets has made carpets for some of the plushest locations on the planet.

Customers of the firm, which is celebrating its centenary, include Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Sandringham, Harrods and the Dutch Royal Palace in The Hague.

Now it 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, will make 150 square metres of carpet for the main staircase and hallways of the residence in Ankara, which is used for official entertaining.

Nigel Foxall, the company's export sales director, said: "Since the company formed 100 years ago we have been carpeting international hotels, famous landmarks, cruise liners and prestigious seats of government and commerce.

"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 carpet, designed by the company's specialist staff in conjunction with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, will feature a nine-inch bordered stair runner with gold, bramble and autumnal colours.

The company won the contract with help from Trade Partners UK, which campaigns for British business abroad, and is hoping foreign dignitaries will be so impressed more orders will follow.