AN East Lancashire business dedicated to serving the community has been granted Community Interest Company status.

Blackburn-based Community and Business Partners, the company behind the Guardian Angel Network, Employers Forums, Employee Community Involvement and the Scrap Art Material Store (SAMS), says the change will protect the future integrity of the business.

Chief executive Amanda Meachin said: "Gaining Community Interest Company status is a crucial step in the long-term development of our business.

"Effectively it means that if we were to ever stop trading, our assets - money, buildings and so on - would be safeguarded.

"We are a private business but our ethos is to serve our local community."