THE fight to save Darwen’s three-day market is going international – after an angry former resident wrote to campaigners from Western Australia.

Pat Horne has penned a lengthy demolition of Blackburn with Darwen Council to potentially axe the market later this year.

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And protesters are also expecting similar correspondence from an ex-Darrener who now lives in the New York area as their lobbying gathers pace.

Mrs Horne, who lives in Roleystone, near Perth, in Western Australia, wrote: “Darwen was once a thriving community. But over the years its identity has gradually been eroded away by successive self-serving councillors based in Blackburn who have little or no knowledge of Darwen or its heritage.

“The market has been a long-standing institution in Darwen. Markets have traditionally been the hub of small towns and have formed an essential part of the fabric of British society for generations.”

She has also taken issue with the rents levied on three-day market traders and argued that many would not easily consider relocating to the larger market hall nearby, given the option.

And she has urged the adoption of a range of incentives to ensure the venue can thrive once again.

Market trader Brenda Cronshaw, who is leading the campaign to save the three-day market, said: “She has very eloquently summed up everything we have said about this.

“This is an issue which has gripped the whole town and obviously now the word has got around the world. I’ve been promised a letter from another local man, who currently lives in New York, in the near future as well.”

More than 1,000 names have been added to the Darwen three-day market petition since the Lancashire Telegraph revealed the threat to close the operation down.

Mrs Cronshaw and her supporters now plan to take the petition around the town’s pubs, clubs and community centres, in a bid to gather more signatures.

Campaigners are also urging those with strong feelings about the decision to lobby Cllr Phil Riley, the borough council’s executive member for regeneration, directly via letter or email at Blackburn Town Hall.