ONE of the last major employers in a County Durham dale has been taken over.

Weardale Steel, of Wolsingham, in Weardale, has built up an international reputation for manufacturing ships' rudders in recent years.

Birmingham engineering firm Eastwood Industries has bought the company, which employs about 90 people.

New managing director at Wolsingham, Tony Coade, told The Northern Echo yesterday: "We are very pleased to be here in Weardale.

"It is our intention to develop the markets the company has already achieved in shipbuilding, which is a growing market both in Britain and abroad. We also intend taking the company forward in new engineering technology."

Mr Coade would not say what new ventures the company planned, but he said they would be making an announcement soon about their future plans.

Durham county councillor John Shuttleworth, who has been fighting to bring new jobs to Weardale, said last night: "I hope that this takeover proves to be good news for the dale. I hope that the company goes ahead with expansion plans which will bring desperately needed new jobs to the area. Weardale Steel is one of our last major employers."

Until last week, Weardale Steel was part of the Langham Industries group, of Dorset, which acquired 95 per cent of the firm in 1983.

The company was then being run down by its owners, the former nationalised British Shipbuilders. It was feared that it may face the same fate of closure as the nearby Consett steelworks.

But through enlightened management, brought in by Langham, the company identfied niche markets, mainly in Europe and with the US Navy, to manufacture ships' rudder horns weighing up to 60 tonnes.

Government Chief Whip and North-West Durham MP Hilary Armstrong said the takeover had surprised her.

"I will be seeking to have talks with the new management at Wolsingham as soon as possible, to find out their plans for the company."

She was anxious to see that Weardale Steel maintained its position as an important part of the industrial structure of the dale.