MORE than 400 workers at Crown Wallcoverings in Darwen were fearing for their future today after the company went into receivership.

The American-owned company has suffered from declining sales over the past five years despite signing up TV designers like Linda Barker, the star of BBC 1's Changing Rooms.

A spokeswoman for administrative receivers Ernst & Young said today there were no immediate plans for redundancies, but could not rule out any job losses in the future.

She said there were 800 people employed at the company's sites at Darwen, Morecambe and Middleton.

"There has been a big drop in demand for wallpaper," she said. "The group wanted to restructure the business to cope with the reduced demand.

"They have not had sufficient funds to carry out that exercise and Ernst & Young has been called in as administrative receivers at the request of the director, she said.

The spokeswoman said an Ernst & Young team, headed by partners Simon Allport and Garry Wilson, were now conducting a thorough review of the business.

"Our aim is to save the business and to save the jobs of the workers there," she said. "It is very much business as usual and we hope we can work with the workforce to resolve the problems."

Crown Wallcoverings has produced wallpaper at Belgrave Mills since 1839 and the town is the spiritual home of the industry.

The company became part of the Imperial Home Decor Group Inc, the world's largest wallpaper operation, in 1998.

Managing director of Imperial Home Decor at Darwen is Mr Bob Spooner, who arrived at the company last year from ICI Paints. He declined to comment today.

Around 400 people are employed in Darwen, with a further 340 at Morecambe and another 60 at a distribution hub at Middleton.

In addiution to the Crown wallpaper brand, the Imperial Home Decor portfolio includes Anaglypta, Shand Kydd, Transform, Oakdene and Lincrusta.