Visitors to Blackburn’s main precinct in the 1980s occasionally had to prepare for mopping rather than shopping after a few leaks and bursts.
These photos from the archive show times when part of the centre were left underwater but traders and shoppers alike weren’t going to let a little bit of water interrupt the daily business.
In 1986 Lord Square became a small lake after a burst water main then in 1987 and 1989 part of the centre was flooded with several inches of water turning the main pedestrian areas into streams.
Staff at the affected shops got out the brooms and buckets and looking at these pictures, shoppers were not deterred from visiting the centre.
It’s also interesting to see the various shops that were in the town centre in this period. No doubt there are one or two which Looking Back readers will remember fondly.
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