Rallying legend of the 1960s Paddy Hopkirk was reunited with the Longbridge-built Mini Cooper S that he drove to victory in the Monte Carlo Rally when he visited Birmingham.

The 74-year-old Ulsterman was guest when pioneering surveillance and security company Scyron opened new offices at Longbridge Technology Park on the site of the old Austin and Rover car plant which closed in 2005.

It was believed to the first time that the Cooper S had returned to Longbridge since its victory in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally.

Mr Hopkirk said: "It's fantastic to be back in Longbridge after all these years. Although the area has changed dramatically from its industrial heyday, the huge amount of work planned by St Modwen to transform Longbridge will give the area and its people a real boost."

Scyron, which produces advanced video surveillance equipment for British police forces, the FBI and the United States Air Force, has moved into 3,500 sq ft of space at Longbridge Technology Park, the first phase of the biggest regeneration project in the West Midlands. Its customers also include security services, transport authorit ies and private organisations.

The company, which employs 20 staff, grew out of a research and development project at Birmingham University six years ago.

Site owner and developer St Modwen, which is based in Birmingham, is turning more than 400 acres of of land into a centre that will eventually employ thousands of people