The corrugated paper business in Denison Road employed about 500 people at the turn of the 20th century when it was known as Rostrons.

Now the final 17 employees of the firm – which became Rigid in the 1980s – have bid a sad farewell to end a 100-year association with Selby.

As reported in the Selby Times in December last year, Rigid Charta and Aston Corrugated of Birmingham formed a joint company – Rigid Aston – and decided to move its operation to the Midlands.

Following the closure of the Rigid Paper mill in Selby in January 2009 with the loss of 200 jobs, the company had been looking to relocate its paper business.

The company's production supervisor Mick Watson, who will train at the new firm's Birmingham operation, was one of the last to leave.

He said: "This is a sad day for everyone concerned. We were producing corrugated paper up until the last moment. Everyone who finished on Friday was asked if they wanted to go to our site in East Common Lane, and two decided to go. Many accepted redundancy.

"I will now go to the Birmingham site for several months for retraining and decide at the end of that whether I want to stay with the company.

"Many people have been here for 20 years or more, including longest serving employee Mick Szewczyk, who has been here for 31 years. We're all sad to go."