The Queen's funeral hearse built by 'proud' Leigh man at Hindley Green Wilcox Limousines

Sean Prescott, from Leigh, and Martin Lowe, from Little Lever, spent months engineering a regular black Jaguar into a hearse fit for a member of the Royal Family.

The pair were contacted about the job when they worked at Wilcox Limousines in Hindley Green around five years ago, but had no idea the vehicle would be used for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen's Hearse (Image: PA)

With a "network of people" working on other aspects of the hearse, Sean and Martin worked on developing, trimming, and glazing the hearse to fit the original shell of the Jaguar.

It was a tough job as Jaguar engineers inspected their work at every stage, and the Queen herself was reported to have been consulted on the design.

However, witnessing their finished product televised live at the Queen's funeral on Monday, September 19, was a moment the pair will never forget.

Sean and Martin's engineering work took months to complete (Image: PA)

Sean, 60, said: "The Jaguar came to us as a basic shell and we had to develop all the interior work, trim and cover all the panels, and fit all the interior and exterior lighting.

"It was a huge job that took us a few months working long hours, and we had to be periodically inspected by Jaguar engineers.

"But it was worth it to see it all come together and it was great to be involved in the process of making it."

The Queen's funeral was streamed to billions of people across the world (Image: PA)

After 33 years working at Wilcox Limousines, Sean left the company a few years ago to set up his own business, SMP Painting & Decorating.

While he may not be in the manufacturing industry anymore, he said that watching the Queen's hearse on display to billions of people around the world was a "very proud" moment that he will never forget.