CLOTH king Barry Leon has proved he is a cut above the rest by breathing new life into a Blackburn Market institution.

Green's fashion fabric stall had become a firm favourite with shoppers for more than half a century until it closed last September.

Now Barry Leon, nephew of original owner Louis Cohen, has taken up the yardstick and reopened the stall.

Barry, who is boss of Leon's fabric store in Manchester, said: "When Louis retired we had a lot of people ringing us up and asking where they were going to get their fabric from.

"We had built up quite a following over the 50 years.

"We decided to come back after the market called us and said they were interested in having a fabric stall back in the market.

"They said there had been something there for so long that after Louis retired, that it left a gap in the market."

The new stall has now been open for about two weeks.

In the 60 years that Green's has been a stall on the market the different owners have continued to use the same name.

New owner Barry will continue to trade under the traditional Green's name.