The pro-Brexit chairman of JCB has told his employees that there is "little to fear" from leaving the European Union.

In a letter to his firm's 6,000-strong workforce, Lord Bamford said he was confident that Britain can "stand on its own two feet".

He claimed the EU was of "diminishing economic importance", adding that more than 53% of all UK exports go to non-EU nations.

The tycoon told workers that he was merely expressing his personal views and not telling them how to vote on June 23.

But he urged them to vote in a poll whose outcome will change Britain and have a "lasting impact on the lives of our children and grandchildren".

Lord Bamford's intervention will come as a boost for the Leave campaign which has seen the bosses of Rolls-Royce and Microsoft back a Remain vote in recent months.

However, David Cameron has received one boost in his efforts to keep Britain inside the bloc.

Sarah Wollaston has defected from the Leave camp in protest at what she called its "untrue" claims on the NHS.

Lord Bamford seen with David Cameron during the last election. Credit: PA Wire

Lord Bamford and his wife. Credit: PA Wire