Nissan Sunderland plant celebrates 25 years of business

Two of the plant's original workers took part in the time capsule ceremony

Nissan's Sunderland plant has celebrated 25 years of business by burying a time capsule on the site.

The plant was opened on the site of the former Sunderland airfield on 8 September 1986 by Lady Thatcher, the then prime minister.

It has since produced more than 6.2m vehicles and 12 different models at Sunderland, including the Qashqai.

The time capsule ceremony recreated the one held when construction of the plant began.

Included in the new capsule were a model Qashqai, a telephone directory, Thursday's newspapers, a Sunderland AFC shirt and items donated by organisations such as the North East Chamber of Commerce.

The site currently employs about 5,000 staff, and 133 of the original 430 employees continue to work there.

Two of these were involved in the ceremony, along with senior officials from the company.