WHEN Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff looks out of his office window in London he can see a little bit of his constituency looking back at him.

Because UK Loco, a specialist and unusual engineering business in Cropthorne, near Evesham, is working on the capsules at the London Eye.

Junior Defence Minister Mr Luff visited the company headquarters to see the progress of the contract awarded to UK Loco in 2009 and due to be completed in time for the Olympics.

He said: “From my office at the MoD I see the London Eye every day and I have often looked at the ‘empty capsule’, part of the ongoing refurbishment work.

“I knew the work was being undertaken in Cropthorne but I wasn’t prepared for the sheer variety of what UK Loco does. It is a gem of an engineering business of which Worcestershire should be proud.

“I was surprised to discover that UK Loco are also sub contractors to one of the most important projects in my ministerial portfolio – the aircraft carriers.”

Mr Luff was shown round the company by managing director Stephen Pagett and director Stuart Watson, and he saw the work the company had done for theme parks and tourist attractions and took him on to the factory floor to see the work being undertaken.

This includes a contract for the Olympics opening ceremony, but which they could tell him nothing about because the ceremony is still firmly “under wraps”.

Mr Luff described the London Eye capsules as “incredibly sophisticated pieces of engineering”.

The company works on two capsules at a time, and as each capsule is removed, it travels down the Thames to London’s docklands where it is loaded onto a truck and transported to UK Loco to be upgraded before returning to the London Eye.

The non-operational capsule the MP sees every day will remain on the London Eye until the final capsule is returned.