SHOPPERS were amazed to see Darwen's town hall clock was not working - less than two weeks after a £30,000 refurbishment of the tower was completed.

It is thought the clock stopped during a power cut on New Year's Eve but yesterday, five days later, the hands were still stuck at five to 11.

It was announced towards the end of last month that refurbishment aimed at updating the clock had been completed. The last piece of scaffolding was pulled down on December 20, yet the new version of the clock only worked until the end of 2003.

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said the clock, which had worked well before the council-funded refurbishment, was eventually fixed yesterday. Coun Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration, said: "The clock is now working well as it has done over many years. Unfortunately it stopped over New Year due to local power cuts.

"Although the clock mechanism is powered by an electric motor, when the power supply is cut the motor has to be re-started manually."

But shoppers who rely on the clock when waiting for their buses felt it was ridiculous that it took so long to mend so soon after the refurbishment.

A 79-year-old woman, from Durham Road, said: "We pay enough council tax to get things like this done. The council obviously can't do anything about a power cut but someone must have reported it before.

"I noticed it was wrong when I got off the bus and a lot of people rely on it."

Susan Taylor, 54, who lives on the outskirts of the town centre, said: "I was amazed to see the clock wasn't working after all the money that's been spent on improving it.

"The restoration looks very good but unfortunately it's wasted if the clock isn't correct."

The work to restore the clock and tower above the market hall began in October as it had become weather-beaten and the materials had deteriorated.

Work has included the replacement of all the rotten timber work with new oak, removing all the old paint and treating the woodwork.