Last year, Corus announced it no longer needed slab steel from its Redcar site, but it would be able to sell its output on the international market.

It had cast uncertainty over the future of the plant and hundreds of jobs.

But on Friday, the millionth tonne of steel produced since then was leaving for South Korea.

Teesside managing director Colin Muncie said: "We are all very pleased. It is a tremendous milestone. We have come a long way in a very short time."

'Tremendous future'

He said the business had benefited from strong demand across the world and had also worked hard to improve productivity and consistency.

Mr Muncie praised employees at the Teesside plant for their work.

He said: "I hope they do see now we have a tremendous future and we can really be a major player in a developing market.

"And our collective responsibility is really to safeguard the future of steelmaking on Teesside for many years to come."