SOME Fylde Coast residents are going to have a very happy Millennium Eve - the workers.

For whether they are given no choice or asked to volunteer, most employees working over the New Year holiday will get bumper pay packets.

Among the top pay premiums is at British Nuclear Fuels, near Kirkham, whose manual workers will receive an extra £250 per shift over December 31 and January 1.

Blackpool bar staff are being tempted with offers of double-time plus £100 in some places or triple-time in others - though hardly any Fylde Coast hostelries are opening the full 36 hours, and some are closing altogether at 8pm on Millennium Eve.

Of the emergency staff on duty, firefighters are being offered double-time and a day off in lieu and ambulance-workers who volunteer will get triple-time and eight hours in lieu.

The police seem to be among the few to be missing out on a millennium bonanza - their leave has been cancelled, with no extra pay.

Nurses at Victoria Hospital will add an extra 166 per cent to their pay-packets and hospital ancillary workers triple-time plus a day off in lieu.

Taxi-drivers in Fylde will be working for triple fares, and those in Blackpool for £3-a-fare supplement.

Most big companies, like British Aerospace, Warton, and Lytham's Guardian/Axa insurance HQ, are shutting down for the holiday, leaving just security and maintenance staff.

"The truth is," said one town centre bar manager, "it's a big unknown. We don't know whether we're going to be overwhelmed with customers or not busy at all, which makes it difficult to plan staffing.

"Probably it's going to be like Christmas Eve, very quiet - most people who're not working will want to be at home with their families on Millennium Eve."

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