CHURCH bosses have complained that Blackburn Cathedral is being surrounded by pubs and clubs after revealing that choirboys and girls have been verbally abused by revellers.

The move comes after plans were submitted to turn a former cafe situated just feet from the grounds into a pub.

The Dean of the cathedral, the Very Rev David Frayne has now called on the council to stop "piecemeal decision-making" about the cathedral's neighbouring properties and work closer with the church over nearby developments.

The National Australia Group, which owns the Yorkshire Bank, is behind an application to Blackburn with Darwen Council to convert the former Carrots cafe on Temple Court into a bar.

But leading members of the local church say the cathedral grounds are becoming surrounded by unsuitable pubs and clubs that detract from its historic character. And they say choir boys and girls coming to practise at the music school nearby the proposed new pub have "sometimes suffered abuse from would-be patrons" of other nearby bars.

In a letter to council planners Mr Frayne said because Carrots is closer to the cathedral than any other building it makes the plan "potentially worse than ever."

There are currently four pubs close to the cathedral, including the Postal Order on Darwen Street and Jam, Marley's Wine Bar, and The Grove on Church Street. Mr Frayne said noise from pubs on Church Street was interfering with services, and the Carrots cafe has windows which open directly onto church grounds.

He added: "Can you imagine any of this country's other cathedral closes allowing such concentrations of use? An occasional quiet historic local pub for visitors and tourists, maybe, but as part of a town's noisy leisure industry, surely, no."

Chairman of Blackburn with Darwen Council planning committee, Coun Frank Connor, said pubs fell under the same class as cafes and takeaways and the council was looking into the problem of premises in the same class changing from one to the other.