Almost 50 jobs are at risk after an aviation manufacturing company that has been in Ashford more than half a century announced it could close.

Houchin's 47 employees, some of whom have spent most of their careers there, have been told there is a proposal in place to stop manufacturing at the global company's only UK site on December 23 and close the business in March 2015.

Staff now face an agonising 30-day wait to find out whether they will keep their jobs as Houchin bosses negotiate with union reps and other interested parties.

Operations manager Les Tindall said: "We sincerely regret having to make this proposal but believe it's necessary for the medium and long-term viability of this company.

"This proposal could affect the majority of our production staff and we have some long-term employees.

"We are now in a consultation period so it’s quite sensitive at the moment."

Mr Tindall said it was likely a small office for sales and after sales services would remain in the UK, probably in Ashford.

The ITW GSE Group, of which Houchin is part, has its headquarters in Chicago, USA, and moved to London in the 1930s, transferring to Ashford shortly after the Second World War.

Different items are manufactured at various sites around the world, mainly automotive components, but the Ashford site, in Hilton Road, Cobbs Wood, currently makes ground support equipment for the civil and military aviation industries.