TWENTY jobs have been lost at a showpiece factory in Blackburn.

The production jobs have been axed at the Rectella factory on the Roman Road Industrial Estate just 18 months after the firm moved to Blackburn after closing its two other sites in the North West.

The firm, which manufactures ready-made curtains, said the job losses were due to a reorganisation in the factory.

A spokesman said Rectella had recently installed a new computerised ordering system and was optimistic about the future.

"The restructuring means the firm is ready to meet the expected upturn in the retail market," said the spokesman.

The new factory, which employs around 400 people, was described as one of biggest ever investments by an outside firm in the area for years.

The £5 million move last year saw the firm relocate its sites at Atherton and Chorley to Blackburn. Rectella is the UK's largest independent manufacturer of ready-made curtains, bedding and soft furnishings. It was founded in 1947 and now boasts a turnover of £40 million.

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