BLACKBURN Cathedral has suspended all public worship in the building.

It will open for two hours each day for private prayer and reflection while all communal services will be offered online.

Later this month the Cathedral crypt will become East Lancashire's main mass coronavirus vaccination centre

The Dean of Blackburn the Very Rev Peter Howell-Jones said: “This has been a difficult decision to come to, but in the interests of public health, responsible leadership and a determination to work together to see the suppression of the Covid pandemic. I hope people understand our need to act at this moment in time.

“We are proud to be able to walk alongside our community in these challenging times and look forward with hope to being at the centre of the fight against this pandemic when our crypt opens as a vaccination clinic in the coming days.”

The Cathedral will host private prayer from Tuesday to Friday and on Sundays between 10am and noon.The closure is in response to pleas from local directors of public health.