TWO town centre electricity shops are to close in a major shake-up by Norweb.

Norweb, part of the giant conglomerate United Utilities, has announced that the Burnley and Accrington branches are to shut following a review of its retail shops.

But the company today said it was not yet able to say whether any jobs would be lost or if staff at the stores would be redeployed elsewhere. No date for the store closures has been announced.

Three months ago Norweb, which was taken over by North West Water in a £1.8 billion deal last year, said it was looking for 70 full-time job losses in the area and wrote to staff in East Lancashire asking for volunteers to take redundancy packages.

The firm said there had been a reduction in demand for services from high street shops and a move to out-of-town stores.

Paul Glover, branch secretary for the Unison union representing the region's electricity workers, condemned the news.

Norweb said that facilities would be made available in areas where shops were closed for customers to pay bills.

And Burnley will get an out-of-centre showroom, now being built near Asda, ready for opening in November.

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