Staff old and new turned out for a gala celebration to mark a Letchworth firm’s 60th anniversary.

Design and prototyping company Ogle, which designed the bulletproof ‘Popemobile’ used by John Paul II when he visited the UK in 1982, marked the milestone at the Letchworth Hall Hotel on Saturday night.

Marketing and sales director Dave Bennion said: “It was very well attended we had over 150 people, a lot of old customers and a lot of new customers, along with a lot of staff - retired and exisiting, which was great.”

Former owner Tom Karen, who oversaw the design of the iconic Bush Radio TR130, the Raleigh Chopper and the Bond Bug, also attended to celebrate the anniversary.

The Birds Hill company, which uses state-of-the-art 3D print technology, is currently investing in new equipment including a large scale Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machine, which produces parts directly from a digital 3D model. This will allow Ogle to widen the scope of what it offers customers.

Dave said: “We have the Ogle factor, which is high quality and on time with really good communication.

“We are looking forward to the next 60 years.”