JAMES Bond will get help on his next mission from special agents in Lancashire.

Staff at Brookhouse Automotive are making parts for the new Aston Martin Vanquish, which Pierce Brosnan will drive in his next 007 adventure.

It is nearly 40 years since Bond first drove an Aston Martin. Sean Connery used an armoured DB5 in Goldfinger.

Eyebrows were raised in the 1990s when Boln switched to German BMWs for three films. But he will be back behind the wheel of an Aston Martin in his next adventure.

Filming is scheduled to begin at Pinewood Studios next month on the 20th Bond movie, which has a working title of Final Assignment. It is due to be released next year.

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The V12 Vanquish supercar went on sale in the summer and already has advanced orders until 2003. It has a six-litre engine, top speed of more than 190mph, and can reach 60mph in less than five seconds. The price tag is £170,000.

The company is manufacturing 300 a year at its Newport Pagnell plant. A third are for UK customers, a third for motorists in the U.S. and the rest mainly for Europe.

Brookhouse Automotive, of Blackburn, is part of Brookhouse Holdings, which has head offices in Darwen, and all 20 staff are involved in producing composite body and engine bay parts as well as the A-pillars which support the car's windscreen and roof.

It is said that the construction of the Vanquish is the most technologically-advanced of any car on earth, involving aluminium, carbon and glass fibre and polymer-based composites. They are extraordinarily strong and ultra-light to ensure the V12 achieves maximum performance.

Peter McGeehin, general manager at Brookhouse, said: ''Aston Martin is our major customer. It's a prestigious contract. There's a lot of pride in what we are producing.