Goodyear a "little planet" to former workers

The image shows the well-known 200ft chimney which has long since vanished from the Wolverhampton skyline. It also includes the still prominent clock tower and other buildings that are ever-familiar to those that worked at the site for many years.

Mike Pearce, aged 57, of Cannock, worked at the factory for 28 years. He was a key operator at the firm, and has always enjoyed photography.

Now, Mike is a real estate photographer and created this work in June 2015 from a singular image he took of the site in January 2013.

He explained: "Usually, to create something like this you would have to use a series of images, but I managed to do it with just one.

"I used photoshop to rotate the image 360 degrees and that's what has created the little planet.

"I suppose what it shows is how important Goodyear was and still is in a way to the city.

"It was the centre of the workers' world really."

The work has now recently been shared by one of Mike's former colleagues, Wayne Devaney, 54, of Wednesfield.

Tweeting about the image on Monday, Mr Devaney said: "The Goodyear Wolverhampton UK World, captured by Mike Pearce former employee, but not even a mark will be left."

Work at Goodyear ended in December. In recent years it has produced rubber compounds for tyre factories overseas as well as retread tyres.

Bosses announced it would close last June after concluding it had become unprofitable. At its peak, the factory employed around 5,000 people.

Hundreds of staff have been made redundant with many expressing their sadness at having to move on.