There is an important element of national defence in this area. Not so very long ago it did not appear on any map because it was classified secret. Soon it may vanish.

The old Royal Ordnance Factory, between Puriton and Woolavington, just outside Bridgwater is still there and still in business. But, perhaps, not for much longer. The river Huntspill, where so many fishermen ply their rods on a quiet afternoon, still supplies the plant. 

It is the very place where Sir Barnes Wallis famous bouncing-bombs

(the ones designed to destroy the Ruhr dams) were fuelled with high explosive:

But British Aerospace Systems, who have run the place since 1987, want to close it forever next year. They claim there is a falling market for the kind of arms that the Bridgwater plant produces. The main union for the workforce, Prospect, says this is wrong. I agree. It is worse than wrong. It is dangerous. It puts our national security at risk.

130 specialists could lose their jobs if the closure plans go ahead. A lot of valuable history will go with them. During the Second World War there was a huge workforce. And more recently the experts at the plant were fitting the final explosive charges into bunker-busting bombs used to penetrate Saddam Hussein's military installations.  

If you visit the little village of Woolavington (extended considerably to provide accommodation in the early days) you could bump into some of the best bomb-makers in Britain, present and retired. They are, in every sense, true professionals. There are not many legal jobs around that encourage people to work with high explosives ! The plant has an enviable safety record

The staff have worked hard with BAE systems and are understandably angry at the latest threat to the plant.

Who will make Britain's bombs in future ? Who will load our bullets ? The appalling truth is that there is only one other arms factory in the world capable of making the kind of explosive that is used to trigger Britain's nuclear weapons....and that is in FRANCE ! The American Military, who currently buy from Bridgwater, are going to go ballistic over this. It may make economic sense to BAE Systems but it is a dangerous decision for the security of our nation. We should never be reliant on a single foreign supplier. The risks are far too high. I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the union on this issue. The Bridgwater bomb factory is too important to lose. Help me fight with facts CONTACT ME (and I am very grateful indeed to those of you who already have - I suggest you also bombard the Ministry of Defence with letters)

I have been very busy in Parliament highlighting the importance of this issue. 

I secured TWO debates - on March 9th and June 6th last year - to tackle Ministers.

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February 22nd 2007. Psst....I'm just back from the front line in Afghanistan where our troops have been getting through huge supplies of arms, all of it transported from the UK. But suppose they had to rely on Johnny Foreigner's firepower?

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• http://www.tgwu.org.uk/Templates/RegionHomepage.asp?NodeID=42513 Transport Workers Union
• http://www.baesystems.com/  British Aerospace Systems run the plant
• www.woolavington.org.uk Woolavington village houses many ROF/Bae staff. It is a go-ahead community with its own interesting website