Sunderland Nissan's entire workforce gets freedom of city

Sixty-five members of staff were invited to the ceremony at the civic centre

An entire workforce of 7,000 people has been awarded freedom of their city.

Employees at Nissan in Sunderland were given the honour by the city council in recognition of their "outstanding contribution" to the city.

Kevin Fitzpatrick, the firm's divisional vice president, said the "ingenuity, quality and commitment" of staff was central to its success.

The council said the plant's workforce had been "instrumental in building the city's global reputation".

The factory has produced almost 9m cars since it opened in 1986.

It makes the new luxury Infiniti brand, the electric Nissan Leaf, the X-Trail and the Qashqai.

Council leader Paul Watson, who proposed the honour, said: "Nissan's phenomenal success in Sunderland would not have been possible without the highly skilled and hard-working people it employs here."