A DARWEN charity worker is one step closer to setting up a soup kitchen for the borough's homeless population.

Pat Monks, from the Broken Arcs Christian Charity shop, in Duckworth Street, is looking to raise £150,000 to buy Blackburn's former Islington Baptist Church. But the charity shop is in need of a fundraiser to help co-ordinate the project.

Pat said: "I've had my eye on this property for six years and it went up for sale last week, so it's an ideal opportunity. It would be the perfect venue for a soup kitchen as it's based around hostels in the area."

The kitchen would become the only one of its kind in the borough, after a service run by the Salvation Army closed down last year.

She said: "At the moment we don't have £150,000 to buy the building so we are looking for a professional who can help us to raise the money. We need someone who is used to dealing with large amounts of money and someone who isn't scared by the large sum.

"It's a big task but I think it's such a fantastic opportunity."

Plans to develop the church into a homeless drop-in centre will be developed if the purchase from the Preston-based Pinkus and Company estate agents is successful.

Pat said: "We would also like to get an information centre up and running and a whole series of services for homeless people."

The Duckworth Street shop currently sees 150 customers each week and utilises ten volunteers who work in shift patterns. The shop is seen as a safe haven for Darwen's homeless population.

Pat said: "We get a lot of homeless people coming in here and quite often they don't have enough money to buy things so they pay what they can. Volunteers from the shop also give talks in local hostels and provide cheap clothing to them."

Danny Pinkus, chartered surveyor and Pinkus and Co estate agents' partner, said: "There has been a very high level of interest in the building already and it has only been on the market for two weeks.

"The church was restored in 1909 and its ground floor has two large meeting rooms with toilet and kitchen facilities.

"The other two floors are open-plan.

"The current owners would like to keep an eye on what the building is used for because it has been a religious establishment prior to the sale.

"I can't see there being any problems with a drop-in centre in the building."