A CLUB owner is preparing to call time on Accrington nightlife after council chiefs turned down an application for an entertainments licence extension.

Anne Miller, who opened Afrika's nightclub in 1981, says she will now sell up or shut down the club as she believes the lights are going out on the town's nightlife.

The club asked permission for a 3am extension so that it could compete with rivals in Blackburn and Darwen. But members of Hyndburn Borough Council's licensing and traffic orders sub-committee turned down the application.

Mrs Miller said: "There is only so much you can do. Leisure in Hyndburn is dying and clubbers are leaving for places like Blackburn and Burnley in bus loads. We really want to put Hyndburn back on the map as a place to enjoy an evening out but we're getting no help at all. This is just another nail in the coffin."

She added: "We can appeal to the magistrates but I have been told in no uncertain terms that I would be wasting my time. I feel betrayed and maybe now is the time for me to walk away from it all."

Club manager Shane Radnor added: "There is no doubt about it. Nightlife in Accrington will die if clubs are not allowed to extend their opening hours and, as we have seen, people will continue to travel out of the town for a night out."

The club had the backing of 144 regulars who submitted a petition, but the council decided to follow police recommendations to refuse the application.

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