ECONOMIC development chief Jim Mason today quit his job just days after being awarded the CBE.

Mr Mason resigned as chairman of Enterprise plc but will continue as a part time director.

The former Blackburn councillor, who now lives in Silverdale, was honoured for services to regeneration in the North West in the New Year honours list.

Mr Mason, 75, worked for Blackburn Council as a photographer after the war before a career which saw him as a leading figure in the Co-op group in the North West.

The news of his resignation came as Enterprise - formerly Lancashire Enterprises - announced profits had more than doubled in 1998.

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