I MUST refute the claims of the Liberal Democrat candidate in Sudell Ward, Darwen - the 'old tech' was not saved by Labour, but by a dedicated team of people better known as 'Darwen Against Demolition' team.

The Liberal Democrat candidate has got her facts wrong and she was not one of the campaigners, so she should not be making comments now. Her leaflet claims that we will lose another part of Darwen's heritage. How wrong can she be?

I was heavily involved with the campaign which started in 1994 and is still continuing. To my knowledge the Liberal Democrats in Darwen have not been interested and not been involved.

It was Councillor Derek Brindle who instigated the campaign. He got the support of the local press and radio stations. People queued to sign the petition (7,000 in 10 days) and now the building is protected.

Come on, Darreners, let's give credit where credit is due. Congratulate our campaigning councillor and his team of hard working supporters. Don't let the Liberal Democrats grab all the credit for other people's hard work.

JOYCE JOHNSON (Mrs), Elm Grove, Darwen.

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