TOWN centre nightclub Switch has closed.

Bosses of the club in St Peter Street, Blackburn, posted a statement on Facebook ahead of the weekend confirming the venue was shutting its doors.

Switch had been forced to temporarily close in August after police and Blackburn with Darwen Council chiefs shut down Nocturnal, which operated out of the same building.

The closure came after a knife fight outside Nocturnal, which left a number of people injured.

Switch then gained its own operating licence but bosses have now taken the decision to close the venue, due to a fall in trade.

A Switch spokesman said: “The closure comes after a serious incident that occurred early in August at a venue in close proximity to Switch.

“Serious security issues were raised with that venue and ultimately this impacted on Switch.

“Security practices were reviewed and implemented with metal detectors being installed and there was a full review of Switch’s security arrangements.

“However, this was still not enough to win back the confidence of customers who quite rightly have been concerned with events that have occurred.

“Unfortunately, due to the high profile coverage of the incident, many people thought that this was related to Switch and this was not the case.

“We have seen a steady decrease in customer numbers which has therefore incurred significant losses.

“It is an utterly devastating blow."

Blackburn regeneration boss Cllr Phil Riley said: “It is obviously disappointing when any new initiative in the town centre doesn’t work.

"I recognise they have had some problems recently and this decision has not come as a complete surprise."