A LARGE town centre store was forced to close after a mouse was spotted inside the shop.

Environmental health bosses were called to Poundworld in The Mall Blackburn as store bosses ‘voluntarily’ agreed to close temporarily.

Poundworld, which sells a variety of products for £1 including food, was closed on Friday and Saturday before reopening around midday on Sunday.

It is understood a complaint was made to Blackburn with Darwen Council after a mouse was seen in the store, situated close to New Look.

An investigation has been launched by the authority’s environmental health team.

Tony Watson, head of environment and public protection at the council, said: “I can confirm there has been a mouse found in Poundworld in The Mall Blackburn.

“Environmental Health officers have been made aware of this and we are working with the store as part of an investigation.”

It is understood no other outlets were affected..

Loraine Jones, general manager at The Mall, said on Friday: “I can confirm that Poundworld in The Mall Blackburn is currently closed.

“We are hoping that it will be reopened as soon as possible.”

Companies discovered to have a problem with vermin can be shut down by the council on health grounds and investigated if an outbreak is reported.

Retail bosses can also volunteer to close and fix the issue before inspected again.

A spokesman for the council said Poundworld voluntarily shut its doors and was revisited at once a thorough cleanse had been completed.

It was unclear how many mice were seen in the shop.

The national business created 30 new jobs when it opened in April 2012, and was the second one to appear in Blackburn town centre.

The retail chain, which has 319 stores nationwide, sells a variety of goods including food, toiletries, cleaning products and pet care and employs 6,000 people.

A Poundworld spokesman said: “We set the highest standards of cleanliness in all our stores and we are treating this incident with concern.

“After becoming aware early on Friday of a potential issue in our Blackburn store, we took the decision as a precautionary measure to voluntarily close the store on a temporary basis in order to investigate and address this situation.

“We’d like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused but we are sure that they understand the importance we place on providing the highest quality service at all times.”

The Mall’s other Poundworld store, located near Boots, remained open for business and operated as normal over the weekend.