THE last factory in a once busy Rossendale village will close in May with the loss of 17 jobs.

Panda Plastics in Whitewell Bottom was recently bought out by Nottinghamshire company Strata Products, but when the company assessed its purchase it found it was not viable.

All of the company's 17 warehouse, clerical and factory employees have been offered the chance to relocate to a new job at the head office in Penxton, but only three or four are accepting the offer.

The closure of Panda, which has made plastic injection moulded products in the village for about 18 years, sparks the end of an era in Whitewell Bottom which once boasted three major mills.

Albert Works - a feltworks - closed in the 1960s and the large mill pulled down and Lambert Howarth's footwear closed its mill in August 1993 when it had 300 workers.

Kirk Nunn, director of Strata, said: "It is very regrettable that the factory is closing, but if we hadn't taken over the company I believe the liquidators would have been called in.

"About five years ago, a new 17,000 sq ft factory was built, but the investment was never made in machinery and product development.

"It was making enormous losses because there had been no capital injection for many years.

"We have got no joy out of this because we are not a hard commercial company, we want to make a profit, but unless you treat your workforce in a responsible and reasonable fashion, you can't run a business."

Strata only bought the business and not the premises which is still owned by the former company owner.

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