BLACKBURN will lose its last wool shop when it closes its doors for the final time this week.

A major part of the town's wool and cotton tradition that spans centuries will finally come to end when 60-year-old Pauline Purcell retires on Saturday.

In the 13th Century, Blackburn's prosperity was based on wool but by the middle of the 17th cotton had become the dominant industry.

In 1767, James Hargreaves, a Oswaldtwistle weaver, put East Lancashire on the map when he invented the Spinning Jenny, which was also used to spin wool.

Nick Harling, of Lewis Textile Museum, Blackburn, said: "It is quite a step in history that there will be no specialist shops.

"Blackburn, among many in Lancashire, was a wool town for many years. It was only the rulings of Henry VIII in the 16th Century that changed history. He dissolved the monastery and the monks' fields which were full of sheep.

"So the industry had to move on and that is when cotton came in."

Pauline has run Creations, East Park Road, and lived in the flat above for the last seven of its 17-year history. The shop, which she runs with her husband Vincent, 52, sells a range of wool and ready-made clothes.

But Pauline said she can remember when there was a wool shop on every corner in the town -- and when they bought the shop there was some healthy competition.

But over the last few years they have slowly disappeared, leaving the couple's shop the only specialist wool retailer in Blackburn.

Pauline said: "I am really upset to be leaving. It is so sad to see all the clothes I spent lots of time and effort making sold in the clearance sales.

"I can't believe I am selling it all off. In two weeks' time I will have taken all the wool out of Blackburn. There are still some small bits within market stalls. But there are no other specialised shops.

"The industry is symbolic with Blackburn and It's such a shame I'm leaving it. But I promised myself when i was 60 it was time to stop."

Pauline, who admitted she feels guilty about being responsible for bringing the end of an era, urged businessmen to fill the gap.

She said with Hollywood stars picking up the knitting needles she has had her best year yet, with all ages showing an interest.

The hobby was deemed 'cool' recently when celebrities including Russell Crowe and Julia Roberts revealed they had taken it up.

Pauline said: "It is very popular now with so many different types of people. I keep being surprised by how many people are coming in.

"It is a shame I am leaving now when there is about to be a boom. The industry is making a turn for the better."