Call centre workers who lost their jobs when their firm folded have been given a lifeline after a company announced plans to move on to the site.

Bosses at Walsall firm Echo Managed Services today said 150 new posts are to be created at King's Mill, Queen Street, Briercliffe a month after 160 staff were made redundant from CPL Communications.

The company last month admitted it was in talks to secure the building and that deal has now gone through, paving the way for new jobs.

Echo says the posts are a result of a major expansion plan by the company, which has included buying the 22,000 sq ft building in Briercliffe.

Echo, which employs more than 1,000 people across the Midlands and South West, already has call centres in Walsall and Exeter which provide telemarketing and helpdesk functions to a large number of blue chip companies.

Managing director of Echo Managed Services, John Catling, said: "We chose Burnley, above any other location in the UK because of the access it will give us to a talented local workforce and the availability of quality office space at a competitive price."

He added: "We plan to use our new Burnley operation to support new business development and service our expanding client base."

The site is undergoing a major refurbishment before a recruitment drive starts later this year. It is hoped all new staff will be in place by mid-2006.

Staff at CPL Communications were locked out of their offices and left fighting for wages they were owed after the firm went into administration.

Now bosses at the new company are working alongside Burnley Job Centre to find suitable roles for those who lost jobs and are still out of work.