HONDA'S announcement that it plans to close the plant in 2021 has already caused the history books to be re-written.

Deepest Wiltshire, penned by journalists Fanny Charles and Gay Pirrie-Wier, is due to come out on March 28.

It explores the development of industry, military, art, and technology that has shaped the county over the years, but needed a last-minute change when the shocking news broke last month.

“I was away in Sacramento and saw the news about Honda, but the book was already at the printers,” said Fanny.

“It meant having to rewrite it hastily, but we couldn’t let the book go as it was.”

The hardback tome is the result of almost eight months of travelling hundreds of miles around the county to find some unusual tales.

Often the pair, who live in Wiltshire, would set off with a location in mind but often veered off course, attracted by a landmark or interesting building that prompted further investigation and often led to a story.

Among the seven chapters is one detailing a grisly collection of stories of murder and robbery.

Fanny said: “We both knew Salisbury well and Devizes from childhood visits, but Swindon was not somewhere we knew anything about.

"I knew Malmesbury well, but Gay had never been there, and we have both completely fallen in love with it.

“We have really enjoyed discovering the rest of the county."

Gay added: “We started researching on the first May bank holiday last year and every day last summer was beautifully sunny.

“We set out each day with a destination, but we often got side-tracked.”

One example is the last surviving GI bride, Dorothy McDaniel from Swindon.

Like many GI brides she was flown out to America from Tidworth to begin a new life stateside. She was interviewed by Gay over the phone at her home in Florida.

Now 92, she recalls her home town and tells how she left it behind for love.

“She’s absolutely wonderful,” said Gay,“I even found a picture of the band that was playing the day she met her husband.”

All through the book are similar human stories that bring Swindon and Wiltshire’s history vividly to life.

Gay said: “In a way the book has turned into a sort of a love letter to Wiltshire, because we have been amazed at the stories we found and fascinated by them.”

Proceeds from the book will go towards the Wiltshire Community Foundation, which gave out more than £300,000 in grants in Swindon last year, SSAFA Wiltshire and the Wiltshire Air Ambulance.