CHILDREN and their parents joined staff at Barkerhouse Road Day Nursery in Nelson yesterday for a farewell party to mark the end of an era.

After 52 years of providing childcare, the town's first day nursery has closed for children services as part of a shake-up by Lancashire Social Services.

A buffet lunch was held for users of the day nursery and staff to say a final goodbye.

Officer in charge, Yvonne Bailey, will move to Haverholt Nursery in Colne, with four other members of staff, on May 6.

The remaining staff will stay as the family support team before eventually also moving to Colne, which will be a base for family support services. Mrs Bailey said: "There are jobs for everyone. This was supposed to be the base for Pendle originally but there was a change of decision to it being Haverholt. Everything is now going more towards working with families rather than just with the children.

"Now we know we are ready for moving we are happy to go to Colne and continue the good work from there. I have worked here since 1980 and it will be sad leaving here in one sense, but I am looking forward to a new challenge and staff are going with me so I won't be alone and the rest of the team will be moving eventually.

"We were registered as a 50-place nursery but we haven't operated as a nursery for a while because we have been winding down the services. We have been running parents groups, respite groups, baby massage, language groups and school holiday clubs for children."

The nursery, which was established by the Burnley Area Divisional Health Committee, was opened in March 1951 by Alderman Bland, who was chairman of the divisional health committee and of the Nelson Corporation Health Committee. Back then, matron was Vera Slater and the nursery cared for 33 children aged nine months to five years.