AN anti-smoking charity shop has quit Clitheroe only weeks after opening amid a storm of controversy.

The Castle Street shop has rarely traded since being opened by the Quit anti-smoking charity last month.

The double-fronted premises occupied a prominent town centre site but was subject to fierce critisism from nearby traders for being closed much of the time.

A spokesman for the London-based charity blamed the closure on operational difficulties and the sale of the premises, which it leased from the owners.

The Quit shop was one of three to open recently in the town centre - bringing the total to nine and earning Clitheroe a "charity shop city" tag with out-of-town bargain-hunters.

Chamber of Trade president Nigel Pratt, who runs nearby Clitheroe Travel, said the shop was emptied and vacated without warning. He said: "After rarely being opened, the shop was suddenly vacated.

"We have seen one of the charity shops off and if necessary will see off another.

"It all proves our point that, when it comes to charity shops, Clitheroe has reached saturation point."

He said his members would rather see premises occupied but were lobbying Parliament for tighter controls on the number of charity shops that could occupy a town centre and wanted the shops licensed by local authorities for greater control.

A spokeswoman for Quit blamed the Clitheroe closure on operational difficulties and said the charity had no plans to relocate in town following the sale of the Castle Street shop.

She said: "The distance of the shop from our other outlets in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire was too far for it to be managed successfully, but the property has also been sold.

"We only ever take shops on a temporary basis and I doubt whether we will be relocating in Clitheroe."

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