BREXIT will be triggered by the end of March, Theresa May has announced today - signalling a surge in work for Worcestershire's MPs.

The Prime Minister has kicked off the Conservative Party conference season by revealing how the legal process for quitting the EU - known as Article 50 - will be enacted in the first three months of 2017.

That will then start a formal two-year process for Brexit, which has implications for Worcestershire in particular given how many of its MPs are in Government.

Worcester MP Robin Walker will be at the front of it given his position as a Brexit minister, while Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier is also a minister in the new Department for International Trade.

As well as the March promise, Mrs May has also revealed plans for a 'Great Repeal Bill' to transpose all EU law applying to the UK into domestic legislation, ready for the day the country leaves the union.

Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show ahead of the conference, She said: "I have been saying that we wouldn't trigger it before the end of this year, so that we get some preparation in place.

"But yes, we will trigger (Article 50) before the end of March next year.

"The remaining members of the EU will have to decide what the process of negotiation is.

"It's not just important for the UK, but important for Europe as a whole that we're able to do this in the best possible way."

She is delivering a speech on Brexit to the conference this afternoon.

Some county MPs have issued their own defiant messages, with Mr Garnier insisting his department's approach on trade will be a "positive" one.

The minister, who was in France last week at the Paris Motor Show with Government officials, said: "The European Union is absolutely still a major trading partner of the UK.

"That's not going to change."

West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin is also in the Government as a defence procurement minister.

Meanwhile James Carver, a UKIP MEP representing the West Midlands, has urged county MPs to help get the best deal.

"The pound is coming down which is boosting exports, and that's great - there's been lots of doom and gloom but if you look at the economy it's a very exciting time," he said.

"Lots of people were taken in by 'Project Fear' but I'm optimistic, if I thought leaving the EU was going to be bad for the country I wouldn't have argued for it.

"The Government have got to get the best deal for the country and also get our national debt down."

The two-year process for quitting the EU can be extended beyond two years if Britain and all other EU countries unanimously agree, but that prospect is seen as unlikely.

The Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, which starts today, runs until Wednesday.