A NEW dome has been added to a one-time care home which has been converted to a mosque.

The copper-painted dome was donated by a mosque in Audley Range, Blackburn.

Built on to the Masjid E Saliheen mosque, in Didsbury Street, it has become a prominent sight on the gateway into the town, on Burnley Road from the Whitebirk roundabout.

A fundraising project is underway to restore the former Burnside care home, which is still in poor condition in some parts.

A spokesman for the mosque said: “It’s a long project, and we are doing it stage by stage.

“The next stage, depending on funding, is to improve the side facing Burnley Road.

“We have boarded that side up so there is no exposed glass, because we were fed up with being targeted by vandals.

“Hopefully it will then look presentable, because it had become a bit of an eyesore.”

Audley councillor Yusuf Jan-Virmani said there had also been drainage problems at the site.

He added: “They have had one thing after another there.

“It was falling apart, and they have managed to refurbish it.

“They also do a lot of community work, including football and badminton classes.”

Queens Park councillor Salim Mulla, of Lancashire Council of Mosques, also welcomed the dome.

He added: “Money is very scarce at the moment, but for a small community they have managed to raise the money to refurbish a large building.”