THERE was jubilation among Burnley market traders when the 'Burnley wall' came down and the new bridge to 'the outside world' was officially opened.

Ever since the crumbling car stack and the bridge that linked it to the three-day outdoor market came down and the 'Burnley wall' went up where once there were big glass doors, the traders say they have suffered a drastic decline in trade.

All that was forgotten when new markets manager, Colin Hill, asked 12-year-old Gemma Louise Quinn, of Brierfield, to cut the red ribbon and declare the new walkway open.

Two weeks into his new job, Mr Hill, who has come to Burnley from a markets post in Hitchin, Herts, said: "I am absolutely delighted to find here in Burnley a strong core of excellent traders who I can both build on and rely on. They know their stock and their customers and, like me, they are keen to promote this market and make it that much better. "I want customers to have a really good shopping experience when they come to Burnley markets."

Gemma, a first-year-pupil at Fisher-More High School, Colne, had the winning draw ticket to cut the big red ribbon, but it was her Auntie Ann who took charge of the accompanying bottle of bubbly.

One of the traders, Mrs Audrey Barker, who has stood the market for 32 years with her aprons and tabards and another 18 years before that with her father, said: "There is a wonderful air of buoyancy. Many more stalls are taken and there is a terrific diversity of goods.

"We have been thrilled for the past few weeks. There are many more customers around.

"This is a lot more like the market used to be and we want to see it continue. After all the doom and gloom, we want to feel we are on our way up."