AN internationally-acclaimed cheerleading group has closed after the woman who took it to the top walked away.

Head coach Fayhe-Louise Mitchell, 23, pulled the plug on the Rossendale-based Pioneer Cheerleaders just a week after they came third in the European Championships in Italy.

Devastated members were informed by letters left in envelopes on the door with a sign saying the club had closed.

Miss Mitchell, from Britannia, who launched the group in 2009, said she took the decision because the pressure from a small number of parents was making her ill.

She said: “For the last four years, cheerleading has been my life.

“I’ve put every penny I have into the club and always been there for the girls.

“I just can’t carry on doing it anymore because it’s been having a negative effect on my health.

“I didn’t call a meeting to tell everyone face to face because I didn’t want to put myself through the way a small number of parents would have reacted.

“My decision is nothing to do with the girls, who I’ll really miss coaching.

“I know the girls were really upset that it’s ended, but they’re all very bright and have bright futures ahead of them.

“I’m only 23 and I can’t keep doing something that’s making me really unhappy.”

Since Miss Mitchell started the club in January 2009, more than 100 girls have danced at Pioneers.

The club have gained more than 60 national awards, appeared at the Royal Albert Hall and at celebrity football matches.

In January, a group of eight seniors featured on the BBC’s A Question of Sport, performing a 30 second routine used to introduce Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell during the Captains’ Challenge.

The club came eighth in Europe at the 2011 championships in Slovenia, before rising up the ranks and being awarded bronze at this year’s competition.

Last September, the head coach opened her own premises at the former Kids@Play building in Alder Street.

In her letter to members, Miss Mitchell said: "It is with great sadness that I am shutting the Pioneers down and apologise for the sudden shock that I am sure it has had on you all.

“I want to thank you all for making my deam come true - but unfortunately this dream has not ended up as I once dreamt.

"I will miss you all so, so much - I can't even bear it. It hurts me deep inside to know that I will no longer be coaching you, and also that the Pioneers family is no more."

One parent said her daughter broke down in tears when she found out the club had shut.

She said the pressure of the growing club became too much for Miss Mitchell to handle on her own.

She said: “The girls were all devastated when they read the letters. They were all crying that night and are still very upset.

“It took so much organisation from Fayhe before the championships.

“It ended up being 50 per cent parents and 50 per cent Fayhe that organised the Italy trip.

“I can see it from the parents perspective and from hers. The club has become so big and her heart isn’t in it like it once was.

“She’s done a brilliant job over the years though.”

Coun Jimmy Eaton, who represents Bacup, said: “It’s a real shame that it’s closing. It put Bacup on the map. The team were so talented.

“I saw them do their routines a few times and it was amazing what they could do.

“But running these sorts of things takes a lot of time and commitment.”

Miss Mitchell recently featured on Channel 4 dating show called First Dates.