WORKERS at a factory where thousands of Lancaster bombers were built said it was “a sad day” yesterday, after BAE Systems announced it will shut the site.

The defence giant is planning to close the Woodford factory, near Stockport, in Cheshire, at the end of 2012, with the loss of 630 jobs.

More than 4,000 Lancaster bombers were built at the aircraft plant during the Second World War. Managers broke the news to staff in a meeting yesterday morning, but many said they already knew the plant would shut.

They told workers they might be able to transfer to another site, but many will be made redundant.

Andy Jackson, a logistics operator, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, has worked at the factory for nearly 30 years.

The 47-year-old, who helps to build Nimrod planes for the Royal Air Force, said: “My father worked here before me, and I have been here for 29 years, so it is a sad day.

“He came here in his mid- twenties and worked here for 30-odd years, and built the Vulcan bomber. So we have got a lot of history with the site.”

“But the announcement is not unexpected, we have been building up to it for about a year now. It is not like we will be thrown out of work instantly, we have got several years to plan our future.”