Union leaders campaigning to save the jobs of 165 workers at a Warwickshire factory were set to present a 1,500-signature petition to Downing Street today.

The move is the latest attempt by Amicus to preserve the status of the IMI Norgren plant at Shipston-on-Stour.

Birmingham-based engineering giant IMI announced in January it intended closing the plant, which manufactures pneumatic products for the motor, beverage and medical industries, and switching production to bases in Eastern Europe and the Far East.

The loss of the manufacturing jobs represents a major blow to the market town, where Norgren is the biggest employer.

The union campaign, which includes Amicus presenting an alternative business plan to the company, gathered support last month when Michael Cashman MEP pledged to take up the case at the European Commission.

Amicus regional officer Peter Coulson said: "The social and economic impact of the closure will be devastating on the town. We believe the factory is profitable and can continue to be so.

"We are presenting this petition on behalf of the workers at Norgren and also on behalf of the UK manufacturing industry which has seen a long list of employers discard their workers and add them to the manufacturing scrapheap."

The union will also be taking the protest to the Annual General Meeting of Norgren's parent company IMI, at the Metropole Hotel at the National Exhibition Centre on May 18.