Sue Skillings is in the business of helping women to help themselves. But, she told JENNY SCOTT, it's a lesson from which men could also benefit. . .

IT'S advice most men would do well to follow -- that on a whole range of subjects such as providing empathy, support and communication, women invariably know best.

And in a quiet street set just outside the heart of Blackburn's bustling town centre, there's an organisation that seems to be doing its best to foster that maxim by assisting women with everything from acquiring new skills to providing individual counselling and advice.

The noticeboard in Blackburn's Women's Centre, on Wellington Street, is a jumble of posters advertising courses for herbal medicine, confidence building, pampering and self-defence.

The woman behind many of these initiatives is mother-of-four Sue Skillings, who has worked at the centre for five years.

"Men probably could take a leaf out of our book," she says, as she reflects on the spirited flurries of activity that take place in the centre.

Sue's daily routine involves co-ordinating the centre's outreach work in Blackburn, Darwen and Hyndburn, organising courses, booking tutors and designing posters, and ensuring the smooth running of the very different community projects.

It requires her to shuffle, hop and step between subjects as varied as henna painting and first aid.

"Women come here for all sorts of reasons -- because it's for all kinds of women," she explains.

Women's centres started to spring up across the UK from the 1970s onwards as women's rights moved progressively to the centre of society's thinking.

The Blackburn centre opened in 1985, founded by a group of local women. It initially included medical provision, in the days before Well Women clinics were provided in GPs surgeries, but in 1995 its remit shifted to more holistic care, such as personal development training.

Sue herself contributes to this personal development through her role as a self-defence trainer. She says: "All women should have self-defence skills. We teach women personal safety, targeting and escape strategies and about offensive weapons. We show women different techniques that don't rely on strength alone."

Sue is also closely involved in the co-ordination for Hyndburn's community event for International Women's Day to be held on March 6 in the New Era Complex.

"The theme of the day is opportunities for women," explains Sue. "There'll be a number of stalls and workshops and people can drop by and try things like beauty on a budget and aromatherapy oils."

To find out more about Blackburn Women's Centre courses, call (01254) 583032.