BLACKBURN'S textile history will be brought back to life thanks to a National Lottery windfall of more than £200,000 that will fund a new website.

The New Opportunities Fund announced today that Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is Lancashire's only winner in a £50million project to chronicle Britain's heritage. Blackburn's 'Cotton Town Project' will chart the rise and decline of the cotton industry that shaped the development of the town.

The £202,000 grant to the council from the 'good causes' fund will finance a new website to tell the story of how 'King Cotton' touched the lives of thousands of Blackburn people.

Blackburn is a partner in a consortium of local authorities, entitled 'Spinning the Web' that includes Manchester, Calderdale and Leicester, whose futures have been framed by different parts of the textile industry.

The Blackburn website will show how the social and economic development of a small Lancashire town was affected by a single industry.

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said the website would be developed by the Library Service which submitted the bid for lottery cash.

"We are delighted," he said. "Work will begin in February and the project will continue into 2003. The website will look back to when cotton was king and will bring history to life."