Cammell Laird starts on second aircraft carrier

MERSEYSIDE shipyard Cammell Laird has started work on parts of a £3bn aircraft carrier for the Royal Navy.

The Birkenhead yard is building the flight deck and hangar of the Prince of Wales in what is understood to be a £44m contract.

Last year Cammell Laird completed sections of another aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

Around 350 staff, half the workforce, are working on the current contract which it secured in 2009.

Cammell Laird, which is a joint venture between its management and the Peel-owned Mersey Docks & Harbour Company, has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years after winning ship repair work and contracts associated with the off-shore wind industry. Staff numbers have more than doubled since 2008.