STRIKES by Blackburn busmen were making front page headlines at the end of the seventies as town centre businesses began to suffer.

Despite a personal plea from transport chief Bill Dobbie to suspend the action, the strikes looked set to continue until the turn of the decade.

On Saturday October 20 1979, traders in Blackburn complained about the damaging effect the strike was having on town centre businesses.

Chamber of Trade president, Peter Hobkirk said: "I'm sure it has deterred people from coming into town, and we have had reports that shops on the perimeter of town are doing remarkably well.

"People are not going to risk coming into town and being left stranded."

Mr Hobkirk said the chamber had discussed the strikes, but as a non-political organisation had decided to take no action.

He added: "I don't think this is affecting the larger spending element of trade but it has certainly hit the small spending in the town centre."

The busmen's union branch spokesman, Harry Atwal, said Mr Hobkirk had failed to persuade the branch to suspend the strikes during a branch meeting.

He said: "He appealed to the men to suspend their action until Wednesday, and after he left, I put it to the meeting and they rejected it."

He could not say when the next strike would happen.