Enamel business shock

Famous giftware firm Bilston & Battersea Enamels was today in crisis after being dumped by its biggest customer.

It leaves workers at the Wolverhampton company fearing for their future.

Halcyon Days, the Mayfair collectibles business that sells the enamels around the world, is severing its links with Bilston & Battersea and now plans to open a rival factory, possibly in the Black Country.

Halcyon has taken the royal warrants for the enamels it supplies to the Royal Family, as well as to heads of state around the world.

The staff at Bilston & Battersea's Mount Pleasant factory, in Bilston, are said to have been "devastated" by the move after nearly 40 years supplying the famous London company.

But bosses vowed today to keep the business running and to maintain the current 52-strong workforce.

New designers are being recruited and the firm aims to use its world-famous brand-name to market its own enamelware