A LEADING East Lancashire based construction firm has invested £500,000 in heavy equipment.

Nelson-based Barnfield Construction has added to its fleet of 35 machines with the purchase of two mini excavators and seven full-sized diggers, all made by JCB.

The mini excavators have already been hard at work helping with the construction of commercial and industrial units in Colne and Simonstone. They proved effective working in confined spaces both inside and outside of the buildings.

Plant manager Michael Croft said Barnfield chose JCB equipment because of the strength of its distributor network in the area and because of its lower operating costs.

"We felt it was important to invest in high quality British-built machinery and JCB provided us with the perfect opportunity to do so."

Barnfield was formed in 1976 as a partnership between Tim Webber and Chris Holgate. It is set to reach a company record turnover of £35 million this year.

Barnfield has more than 250 staff and has been involved in a broad range of projects from new homes to industrial and commercial premises to retail and leisure centres. Most of his work is done in the North West although it has recently spread to Yorkshire and South Wales.