THE future of a Barnoldswick business threatened with closure at the end of last year is looking rosy following the creation of 20 new jobs.

Albert Hartley Textiles, at Crow Nest Mill, has been taken over by its biggest customer R. Soper Ltd and it is believed the move will lead to more jobs in the future.

Sinclair Finlay, managing director of Albert Hartley's said: "It's very good news for the company and the employees and it is also good news for the town that new employment is being created. The takeover is also good news for the British textile industry. It shows that we can fight against cheap imports.

"We have had redundancies year on year for the last five years and we feel that this is a real positive move for the company."

Eighty members of staff were faced with redundancy last September during the massive shake-up of parent company Coats Viyell, when it decided to stop all its clothing and soft furnishings side of the business and 60 people lost their jobs in 1998 due to 'difficult market conditions'.

Two years earlier the firm cut its workforce by 144 and in November 1997 its remaining 205 workers were put on a three-day week.

Blinds and soft furnishing manufacturers Montex Curtains Ltd, which is part of the R. Soper group, will now move into the premises and create the 20 jobs on a new production line and further vacancies will be created when the firm's mill shop reopens.