THE doors have closed for the last time on the company behind the world-famous Pendelfin rabbits after more than 50 years.

The firm announced earlier this year that it would cease production at its East Lancashire base at the end of March, with the loss of 14 jobs.

And today workers at the factory, based at Briercliffe Business Centre, left for the final time.

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

The demise of the well-known firm was met with sadness by fans of the brand and figures from the antiques world.

Nicholas Frankish, managing director firm, said: "Production at the base has now finished and I will be handing over the keys to the landlord next week. This is the end of an era and is extremely sad, although I must stress the brand will continue to be produced elsewhere.

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

East Lancashire-born antiques expert Eric Knowles, who used to drink in the same pub as company founders, Jeannie Todd and Jean Walmsley Heap, said he was upset at the news.

Eric, known to millions of Antiques Roadshow viewers, said: "It is very sad, especially as when I started working I used to go for lunch to the Roggerham Gate every Friday where the two founders, who used to be known as the Bunny girls, would go.

"Years later, as I travelled around, it was strange to see these pieces being produced from people in all corners of the world.

"They really took off in terms of their popularity."

Last year Pendelfin fan and Burnley Football Club director John Sullivan bought a design for the dust jacket of Dingleflop Chimes, signed by author Jean Walmsley Heap and dated 1949, for £2,000, who also bought a Pendle Witch plaque to hang on the wall of the boardroom at Turf Moor for good luck.