A CAR dealership which has been at the heart of a Ribble Valley's town centre for 30 years is to close -- less than four years after shutting its Blackburn showroom.

Syd Brown and Sons Ltd, based in Berry Lane, Longridge, since 1984, will close before the end of May after the directors sold the business.

The company says it will reveal the name of the new owners before the end of this month, but would only confirm the future of the petrol station side of the business, which will carry on trading.

The new owner is not thought to be another dealership or car sales firm. Syd Brown is best known as a dealership for Rover, and used to run a showroom at Grimshaw Park, Blackburn after taking over the Rover dealership in Blackburn from Lex in 1998.

The company's Grimsargh Mitsubishi showroom is not affected by the closure of the Longridge site, which director Phil Holden, said had been triggered by a "changing trading world". In a statement, he said: "We are very sad at this outcome. A lot of our staff have worked here for a great number of years, and their high-quality skills are being recognised by our competitors already.

"These days, a business the size of ours is more likely to do well within city centres, rather than the centre of a market town."

Founder Syd Brown, retired as managing director two years ago. He now lives in Knowle Green and said: "To witness the closure of the business, which represented the ultimate achievement of my working life is a painful experience, and I feel for the people, who, in one way or another, will be affected by the closure."

Around 20 staff are employed by the dealership and some are transferring to Grimsargh, while others have found jobs at other dealerships.

The fact that the company has said the BP petrol station will continue to operate has led to rumours in the town that the site has been bought by a supermarket chain.

The petrol station has suffered two robberies in the last two years. Around £1,000 was stolen by a masked man wielding a metal bar after he locked staff at the garage in an office in May 2002. Then gunmen struck a year later, snatching a substantial amount of cash.

At the time of the closure of the Blackburn branch of Syd Brown's in 2000, the firm blamed falling sales brought on by negative media reports about Rover following its sale by BMW and the fact the Blackburn site is too costly to operate.

The loss of the new Mini franchise to BMW was also a blow to the business.

There had been a car dealership on the site for 18 years -- but it is now being developed into B&Q.