A TOWN library has been reopened after a long battle from councillors and campaigners alike.

Lancashire County Council's flagship programme to reopen libraries which closed more than a year ago marked another milestone as Oswaldtwistle Library became the latest to reopen.

The library in Union Road was reopened by Oswaldtwistle County Councillor Peter Britcliffe, who represents the town.

He said: "said: "Oswaldtwistle Library is a particularly special library with historic origins and a proud history.

"We're very glad to have our library back and I'm delighted to have the honour of reopening it today.

"There are good reasons why people love their local library.

"They offer something of interest for everyone as well as being a place where people of all ages can meet and get involved in activities."

To mark the reopening and promote the county council's Archives service details of County Councillor Britcliffe's family history were revealed to him for the first time.

The event was also attended by Peter Hargreaves, the great grandson of Councillor Arthur Hargreaves who first opened the library in 1915.

The library closed at the end of 2016 after cuts were made by town hall bosses hitting similar sites across the county.

The controlling Conservative group at the county council pledged to reverse plans to close libraries across the county as part of their election manifesto earlier this year.

Plans have been agreed for the phased reopening of libraries, and Oswaldtwistle is the seventh to reopen, with more planned for the coming weeks.

Oswaldtwistle library is one of hundreds throughout the world built with money donated by Scottish businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, and was first opened in 1915.