Archive footage explores Bedford's Italian heritage
A 50-year-old TV report has explained how the UK's largest Italian community outside London came about.
BBC Archive posted part of magazine show Nationwide broadcast in February 1973, which explored why 10% of Bedford's residents were from Italy.
Most had moved to the town to work at a local brick factory that had started recruiting workers in Naples.
The Italian government even paid for teachers there to provide language classes to children of immigrants.
