Workers at a Flimby shoe factory had a right royal surprise on Monday when the Prince of Wales visited.
New Balance was closed for the Easter break but manager, Andy Okolowicz, asked if workers not going away would be happy to come back to work to welcome "an important visitor."
He was not able to announce who the visitor was in advance and was delighted that so many turned up.
Prince Charles toured the factory, celebrating 35 years of making high performance sports shoes in Britain.This was his first visit to the factory in Flimby, although he visited when it was at Lillyhall prior to 1991.
"I was shown several pictures of myself during my last visit to the original factory and it is worrying to see how much I have disintegrated," the Prince told assembled worker.
He presented Ann Ormond and Tom Ross with long-service awards for 35 years with the company, while a third award went to Mike Mien for 25 years of service.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here