MORE than 25 jobs are to be lost when a firm that made Blackburn famous across the world relocates.

But the man who took the decision to close the site today said the employees at Secto could not be bettered - and urged other local employers to take them on.

The news is the second relocation jobs blow in as many weeks.

Last month Plasmon announced it was switching production of specialist laser discs to a site near Cambridge with the loss of 40 local jobs.

Secto - which manufactures pet care products and insecticides - is to close its factory in Carlinghurst Road next month as part of a rationalisation of its UK sites.

Around 26 staff are expected to be made redundant with a further seven relocating to a site in Lincolnshire where production is being switched.

Michael Sinclair, managing director of the William Sinclair Animal and Household Care division which owns Secto, today described the move as regrettable.

But Mr Sinclair stressed that the decision was in no way a reflection of the Blackburn workforce.

"They have been a very good and very loyal workforce and I would gladly have taken them all on down here but we realise it is not viable for many of them to relocate. "If there is an employer up there in Blackburn who would be willing to employ them I would be very happy to personally recommend our staff."

Seven employees, including two managers, have so far agreed to relocate to Lincolnshire.

Secto is one of the most famous names in the pet care and household products industry. The name was chosen by the late William Woolley - the man who founded Blackburn pharmaceuticals firm Cupal - for an insecticide he began marketing in 1906.

After the second world war - when the product was used by British forces around the world - a separate company was formed to concentrate on the insecticide and the firm grew into one of the leading firms in its field.

In the 1950s the firm became the first in Europe to pioneer the use of the aerosol can. The firm went on to develop a range of products including flea collars for cats and dogs.

In 1992 the William Sinclair Group bought the firm from the Woolley family in a £6.6 million deal.

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