More than 60,000 fewer people work in the manufacturing industry in the East of England now than a decade ago, a union claims.

Analysis of Office for National Statistics data by the GMB shows that between 2006/7 and 2016/17 the number of manufacturing sector workers in the region fell from 332,300 to 270,200 – a fall of 18.7%.

Recent mass redundancies in the sector in Norfolk and Suffolk have come from Delphi, Britvic and Colman's maker Unilever.

Among the hardest-hit districts in the decade were Forest Heath, which lost 57.8% of its manufacturing workforce, Great Yarmouth (-47.9%), Babergh (-40.7%) and Norwich (-40.6%).

But there were districts bucking the trend such as Suffolk Coastal, where the manufacturing workforce was up 62.9% in the decade, and North Norfolk (38.5%).

Warren Kenny, GMB regional secretary, said the 'steady erosion' of the manufacturing base 'cannot be allowed to continue'.