The Princess Royal officially opened the new £30 million British Ceramic Tile factory, Heathfield, on Friday.

After meeting dignitaries she was given a guided tour of the state of the art factory and unveiled a plaque to mark the opening.

The factory, which has taken two years to build, uses Devon Ball clays to make its tiles.

Executive chairman, Konrad Goess-Saurau, who showed the princess around the premises, said: 'Factories like this which can compete in world markets and can link British design to British products, will secure British jobs for the future. Companies like ours are founded by shareholders who are prepared to invest for the long term.

Bovey Tracey mayor, Cllr Michelle Davey, met Princess Anne on her visit, pictured right.

'It's the first time I've met any royalty and I felt honoured,' said Cllr Davey.

'She said to me that she hoped I wasn't too busy with my duties as mayor and wished me well.'

Cllr Davey had positive things to say about the factory.

'I visited the factory around a year ago and it has come on a long way,' she said.

'It's a superb facility and the machinery is state of the art.

'I know some local people living nearby have issues with the dust the factory produces, but as a whole I think the business is positive for the county as it is supplying jobs to local people.'

The BCT factory is on the site of the original Candy Tile Company which was founded by Frank Candy in the 1860s.

BCT chose the site in the late 1990's and started production in 1999 and have since completely remodelled the factory.

It currently employs 335 staff, most of whom are based at the Heathfield premises.

The Princess flew into the area by helicopter when she visited BCT last week.

She landed at Stover School, Newton Abbot, and was met by excited students who greeted her with flags and applause.

The pupils also got to have a look inside the helicopter, picture below.

Susan Bradley, principal at Stover School, said: 'It is a great honour for HRH to use our helipad to land. It was a lovely experience for all our pupils.'