PROMENADES along some of the country's best known sea fronts and waterways are to be protected by decorative railings made in East Lancashire.

And the influx of £1.5million worth of commissions at iron works company B Rourke and Co is to create new jobs at the business.

Workers at the Accrington Road site, Burnley, are preparing to forge ornamental railings that will help protect people walking along the rivers Clyde, Mersey, and Thames.

The company has already completed projects for walkways along the seafront at Cleveleys, Morecambe and Weston Super-Mare.

Brian Rourke, who set up the business in 1961 at the age of 23, said the company had branched out into post and railing systems after seeing a boom in the market.

Mr Rourke, now 69, said: "Railings have always been put up at such sites but now there is a greater awareness of people living by water and the safety issues that this creates, so systems have to be stronger and more effective.

"We are well known for our decorative work and we started investigating the possibility of making railings last year.

"Since then the orders have come flowing in."

He added: "It has been very exciting. We have always worked with iron before but stainless steel is very fashionable now.

"It doesn't rust and it looks good, although it requires maintenance so it doesn't tarnish."

The railings can cost between £150 per metre and £600 per metre, depending on the design and materials used.

Barrie Ogden, sales director, said: "We carry out the work for a contractor like Balfour Beatty, but their client is usually a council or water authority.

If a town is looking to replicate its classic Victorian post and rail system we can do that.

"Other authorities want a more modern aesthetic, where the essence is a clean cut design with curved posts and tense steel wires acting as a barrier."

He added: "Safety is of paramount importance and the systems have to comply with British Standards and Royal Society for Prevention of Accident guidelines.

"At the same time there's no point having safe railings that are an eyesore so you have to find a balance. That is where our years of expertise come in."

The foundry's initial turnover was just £334 a year, but has now risen to £5.5million.

Mr Rourke hopes that the new line in railings will raise this to £10million over the next two years.

The company is now looking for experience welders and electricians to help with the orders.

Previous customers of the company's ornamental gates have included celebrities such as former boxer Mike Tyson, England footballer Phil Neville, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Bianca Jagger Designs have also featured at Disneyworld in Florida and in the Oscar-winning film A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe.