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Hull caravan and lodge manufacturer Willerby saw turnover fall 12 per cent and operating profit 40 per cent, in a year where political uncertainty left people reluctant to spend on big ticket items.

Accounts now published for the period to September last year, showed that sales of £153.7 million came in significantly below 2018’s £174.8 million.

Operating profit was £9.6 million, down from 2018’s £16.1 million, though £3.5 million was attributed to set up costs for new products.

The figures follow an emerging story across the industry, with profits halved and turnover tumbling across the city at Swift, as previously reported.

Auo-Trail, the Grimsby-based motorhome manufacturer, also saw sales slide 22 per cent across a similar period.

Brexit uncertainty had dominated the year, but has now been followed by the coronavirus pandemic that has wiped out an entire quarter - with all eyes on the pace of the economic recovery.

Willerby’s directors told how the Hedon Road company had invested in a number of strategic projects to source new products, and underlined the importance of the £1.4 million research and development budget it maintained from 2018 “as key to continuing success in the medium to long term future”.

They said: “Over the last few years the board has developed a strategy based on the introduction of new products that satisfy customer needs in the core market of holiday homes which includes both caravans and lodges.