A SUPERMARKET manager has saved the day after the Britannia Coconutters Millennium Festival was put in jeopardy by Bacup's creaking bridges.

The Coconutters (pictured) have planned a dance extravaganza for Easter Sunday to celebrate the year 2000 in style.

The world famous dance troupe had invited other groups from across the country to join them at the festival which is expected to attract thousands of visitors to Bacup town centre.

But the group's plans to stage the event outside the Conservative Club in Irwell Terrace were thrown into chaos when council engineers said the bridge running underneath the street may not be strong enough. John Cowpe, Rossendale Council's borough engineer, said: "The bridge is a weak structure to which no significant live loading should be applied. That doesn't just mean vehicles but also crowds. The county council's bridge engineer has advised that the structure should be guarded against crowd loadings of the scale anticipated by the event organisers."

But when Chris Jones, manager of the Co-op in Irwell Street, heard of the Coconutters plight he immediately said "the show must go on".

Chris contacted his head office and got permission for the dancers to use the car park outside the store as a new venue.

Tom Healey, secretary of the Coconutters, said: "The Nutters were bitterly disappointed not to be able to stage the event in the centre of Bacup. However, Chris Jones is a real local hero and has saved the day."

The council now plans to fence off the Irwell Terrace area to the public to protect the weak bridge during the festival.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.