TRIBUTE has been paid to a worker who has clocked-up half a century with a Haworth firm.

Inverness-born Brian Cooper began work as a labourer with Airedale Springs when he was just 15.

Following an apprenticeship, he qualified as a flat-spring maker.

Over the years he has worked in various departments, becoming a chargehand when the company moved to Ebor Mills before switching to the engineering and maintenance department.

To mark his 50-year milestone, colleagues staged a party and presented him with a year’s subscription to a golf club.

Company chairman, Tim Parkinson, said: “Brian is a popular and a well-respected member of the team – a skilled spring maker and maintenance engineer.

“Over half our employees weren’t even born when Brian commenced his employment.

“To serve 50 years is a magnificent achievement – the likes of which we may never see again – and we all congratulate him.”