A FAMILY business is closing down after 88 years - and bosses are blaming road works and a new one-way system.

Hodkinson's, a florist's in Duckworth Street, Darwen, will shut for the last time this Saturday.

Emily Reece, 31, who took over the shop from her mother-in-law Pat Hodkinson four years ago, said four staff, including herself, had been made redundant.

The shop won an award for being named Florist of the Year at a prestigous event earlier this year.

But Mrs Reece said that the roadworks and one-way system had stopped vital passing trade.

This year, engineers have worked on a £1.4million scheme in the town centre, which aims to improve traffic flow from the junction of Bury Street and Duckworth Street through to the Circus.

Council bosses said the work, while causing short-term problems, would benefit the town in the longer term.

But many shops have complained that they have lost custom.

And now Mrs Reece says she is being forced to close.

She said: "I am really, really upset. It is such a difficult time. I feel more emotional than I thought I would. People are really sad for us and tell us how sorry they are.

"I am closing the business. I am cutting my losses because I don't think it will improve.

"Darwen is a nip-in sort of town. We are on the main road."

She said she noticed a decline in the business when the roadworks started and once the project was completed, matters did not improve.

Mrs Reece added: "The new one-way system takes traffic away from the town centre because it goes around the shops rather than through it.

"This has affected us because people used to stop on their way through and pop in.

"People's shopping habits have changed too.

"I think we have done everything right as a business but external forces have been at work and I can't change them."

Hodkinson's first opened in 1919 as a greengrocer's. It has been a florist's for decades.

Coun Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration at the council, said the changes to traffic circulation in Darwen were designed after full consultation with residents and shopkeepers.

He said: "There are other factors which have affected the footfall on Duckworth Street, such as the changes around Redearth Road, the leisure centre and health centre.

"But the new system was designed to take through traffic, which has no intention of stopping, away from the heart of the town centre to improve the environment for everyone.

"Cars can still park on Duckworth Street to use local shops and should find it easier to pull in and out, with the reduction of through traffic.

"We are also reviewing signposting in the town centre to make passing motorists aware of the shopping opportunities on Duckworth Street and Market Street."