A FAMOUS Burnley company is to close later this year after more than 50 years.

Pottery company Pendelfin Studios will cease production at its Briercliffe base in March, with the loss of 14 jobs.

Bosses at the firm, which makes ceramic figurines, said the closure was due to increased competition from production centres in the Far East and falling demand in this country.

Nicholas Frankish, managing director, said: "We will be closing at the end of March and redundancy packages have been put together for the staff.

"Demand for the product made here has been falling and although we have been trying to sustain manufacturing, that has unfortunately proved untenable."

Pendelfin is based in Briercliffe Business Centre, Burnley.

The company was founded in Pendle in 1953 by Jeannie Todd and Jean Walmsley Heap after they met at an exhibition of paintings being staged by Burnley Artists' Society.

They became close friends and decided to go into business together.