IT is a sad day when a Haslingden firm considers relocating to the South East. East Lancashire has made great strides in the last few years in attracting jobs. To see them being lost to the overcrowded South is galling, especially when many companies from that part of the country are moving in the opposite direction to find a bit more space.

The strategy of such a move is baffling.

The South has a chronic shortage of housing with the government threatening to gobble up thousands of acres of green field sites, wages are far higher than in this area and the road system is almost permanently clogged.

One of the firm's executives said they were looking for ways of moving from computer distribution to e-commerce, software and other new markets.

Hasn't he heard? The Internet has no geography.

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