SELF-MADE multi-millionaire Trevor Hemmings has emerged as a potential buyer for Darwen's crisis-hit Crown Wallcoverings.

And today union bosses and Darwen's MP said they would welcome the Chorley-born entrepreneur, even though he was in charge of Coloroll at Nelson in 1999 when a decision to move production resulted in 300 job losses.

Mr Hemmings has approached the administrators Crown, who last week made 177 workers redundant, in a bid to keep the business afloat.

And Terry Thompson, branch secretary of the print union GPMU, said he would welcome a bid from Mr Hemmings despite what he had previously done in East Lancashire.

A spokesman for Mr Hemmings - who already owns the Vymura and Coloroll wallpaper brands - today confirmed that he had been in touch with administrative receivers Ernst & Young.

"Mr Hemmings has registered an interest in the Crown business, but it is very early days," he said. "We have a good business in Vymura and Coloroll and where an opportunity arises we will look at acquiring other businesses to add to it.

"Crown is a good name in the industry and if we feel there is something we can do with the company we will make a bid.

"Mr Hemmings has a good track record with British firms to make them work financially."

Crown Wallcoverings went into administrative receivership 10 days ago, blaming falling sales of wallpaper for heavy losses.

Ernst & Young axed a total of 212 jobs as part of a rescue bid and has put the business up for sale.

Mr Hemmings is one of the UK's wealthiest businessmen, with a personal fortune estimated at £480million and has an interest in more than 100 UK companies and moved into the wallpaper sector when he bought Hyde-based Vymura in 1999 for £28.9 million. Later that year, it took over Coloroll at Nelson and closed the factory when it moved production to Hyde.

Janet Anderson MP said she would encourage him to buy the factory. And Blackburn with Darwen Council said that grants from the Regional Development Agency would be available to assist anyone who buys the business.

Mr Thompson confirmed the GPMU is co-ordinating legal action against the receivers to claim back lost earnings for worker and further discussions on workers' frozen pensions would take place tomorrow.