TOWN centre pubs could be closed to revellers seeing in the new Millennium as bosses refuse to pay sky high wages or opt to give staff the night off to celebrate.

Bosses of one of Blackburn town centre's biggest and busiest pubs, The Postal Order, in Darwen Street, are planning to shut up shop on New Year's Eve next year.

And chairman of Blackburn Licensed Victuallers Association Geoff Sutcliffe said he had already heard reports about bar staff at other venues demanding up to £500 to work on the night and DJs wanting as much as £3,000.

The Postal Order will join every other JD Wetherspoon pub in the UK and close at 8pm on December 31, 1999.

The move is described as a "genuine gesture" by the company, which said it wanted to give staff the chance to celebrate away from work. It denied potential staffing problems had prompted the decision but conceded that its policy of no music or television was not condusive to a special party atmosphere.

But the announcement could now lead other pubs, restaurants and hotels to follow suit, with some already considering whether it is worth opening on the night considering the extra wage bill and uncertainity over staff.

JD Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "New Year's Eve's is not a unique experience but the turn of the millennium is something none of us will ever see again and we thought it would be nice to give everyone the night off.

"Personally I don't think it will make a great deal of difference anyway. Some pubs may be expecting their busiest night of the century but does anyone really want to spend it in a pub -- never mind working behind the bar."

He added that all 280 Wetherspoon pubs would remain open this New Year and that the decision over Millennium Eve opening hours could still change.

Mr Sutcliffe, of Blackburn's Manxman Hotel, was surprised to hear the news.

He said: "It is too far away to think about yet but there have been some stories about bar staff demanding up to £500 to work on that night, while DJs want as much as £3,000.

"If bar staff demanded extortionate rates to work on that night then some places will have to close because there is no point if we're going to lose money.

"There is no way we can put the price of a pint up to cover the extra bill because who will pay £5 for a pint on that night when it was £2 the day before? People only have so much money to spend and that includes landlords."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.