Land Rover marked the end of an era when production of its iconic Defender model came to an end after 68 years today.

The vehicle has been in continuous production at the West Midlands car maker's Solihull factory since 1948.

A special celebration to mark the end of a key chapter of Land Rover history was held at the Lode Lane plant.

It was attended by 700 people, including current and former employees and special guests.

They witnessed the final Defender rolling off the production line before a ceremony hosted by former Top Gear presenters Vicki Butler-Henderson and Quentin Wilson.

The celebration culminated with a parade featuring a whole host of Land Rover vehicles, ranging from the first Land Rover ever made to the Defender created for the Tomb Raider film.

It also included the final Defender to roll off the production line.

Ms Butler-Henderson said: "The Defender is the best 4x4 on the planet and an iconic beauty that has just got better with age."

Mr Wilson added: "The world will miss this constant piece of engineering that has been here since 1948.

"It has all the brilliance of the Spitfire, Concorde, Arkwright's Spinning Jenny or the hovercraft - it's a singular and very special British invention."

In all, 2,016,933 Defenders and its Land Rover predecessor have been built in Solihull.