THE arrival of a household goods manufacturer in Burnley 80 years ago was a prestige achievement for the local council.

With thousands of weavers out of work as mills closed on almost a weekly basis, the opening of a new factory by Platers and Stampers - which later became known as the Prestige Group - brought badly needed jobs to the town.

This photograph, from 1976, shows operatives working on the company's mini mop assembly line, just one of many in the business, which manufactured a whole range of kitchen goods, such as pots and pans, utensils, bread and waste bins.

Platers and Stampers brought its operation to Burnley just before the Second World War, moving into an extensive red brick factory built on land owned by the local authority on Colne Road and creating several hundreds of vital jobs.

Not only was it close to the town centre, but adjacent to the good's yard at Burnley Central Station, handy for raw materials coming in and finished goods being sent to market.

It's hard to believe today, but the site had formerly been known as Cronkshaw Meadow and owned by Sir John Thursby, before he gave it to the council.