Critics claim quality of Hunter boots plunged after production moved to China

Hunter Boots has dramatically gone into administration with debts of £113million, with 11 staff made redundant and another 110 jobs at risk after its founding 160 years ago. Customers have long complained about the quality of the boots, which had a royal warrant from the late Queen Elizabeth II, since production moved to China in 2008. The rain boots - which sell for a £125 - have also been worn by pop stars such as Florence Welch and Rita Ora as well as models Alexa Chung and Cara Delevinge. Hunter was founded by two Americans in 1856 as the North British Rubber Company, which supplied rubber boots to the army in the First and Second World Wars after it was the first company to manufacture the product in the UK. The boots, which have existed as wellies since 1956, were seen as a pioneering innovation when the earlier designs were created a century before following the discovery of vulcanised rubber. Then at the start of the First World War, production increased dramatically as the company was asked to supply sturdy rubber boots to soldiers. After the Second World War, manufacture of the boots moved to a larger factory in Heathhall, Dumfries, to deal with the rise in demand as the rubber Wellington boot became popular with farmers and industry workers. In 1981 the boots were worn by Princess Diana in her engagement photos, with the distinctive 'Hunter' label clearly visible.