AS the gates of the Michelin plant in Burnley closed for the last time in April, the town was given a jobs boost with the announcement that the site would be redeveloped into a business park.

The factory, first opened in July 1960, was the jewel in Burnley's industrial crown and the announcement that 452 people would lose their jobs was a bombshell for the town.

The North West Regional Development agency bought the site and has promised to treble the number of jobs lost over a 10-year period.

French-owned Michelin claimed the level of investment needed to make its Burnley plant viable could not be justified.

The closure of Riley Leisure at Hapton earlier this month brought to an end one of the oldest and most famous names in East Lancashire's manufacturing history.

Riley was the world's most recognised snooker brand with its tables exported to more than 60 countries and its cues endorsed by world champions such as Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis.

E.J. Riley first opened for business at the Pioneer Works in Accrington in 1897 and, within a decade, had become the world's largest manufacturer of billiard tables.

The company moved to Padiham in 1984 and then to Hapton. A management buy-out in 1999 failed to arrest the decline in the company's fortunes and Riley closed with the loss of 120 jobs.