ROSSENDALE'S footwear heritage has been preserved in a new museum which is already attracting coach parties.

Lambert Howarth has moved its museum and factory shop from Gaghills, Waterfoot, to the former manufacturing base at Greenbridge Mill, Rawtenstall.

Brian Warburton, director of wholesale and retail, said: "It all started in about 1991 when people used to say my office was more like a museum, because of my artefacts.

"So, we made it into a museum at Gaghills, with shoes through the ages and even the original safe.

"We moved it all to the former manufacturing base at Greenbridge Mill where it is a proper museum, four times larger than Gaghills, with much more space to display things properly, a larger factory shop and a cafe area.

"We have already got a coach party booked in, and the area can be used by schools as an educational resource into Rossendale's footwear history."

Mr Warburton, who has worked in the footwear trade for 45 years, said he hoped that when the Commonwealth Games came to Manchester in 2002, Rossendale would attract visitors from all over the world.