The new engine work will create up to 500 jobs

By 2004 the Dagenham operation will be producing nearly a million engines a year.

Together with the petrol engine plant in Bridgend, Wales, it will power a quarter of all Ford vehicles.

But the investment comes as the company winds down vehicle production at Dagenham.

The final Fiesta model will roll off the line in February.

Car production will end at Ford's Dagenham plant

Already 1,300 jobs have been lost in the car plant.

Another 1,300 will go by the time production ends.

Ford says it wants to add 500 jobs over the coming years, although internal company documents obtained by the BBC suggest that some of these are actually just transfers from other parts of Ford UK.