VIDEO recorders may have become obsolete - but one man aims to bring them back to life.

Blackburn Market stallholder John Jones, 45, of Shear Brow, said people had been clamouring for VHS tapes since he opened his stall nine months ago.

And, after three months of running Movie in a Box, John received a £2,500 grant from Blackburn with Darwen Council to develop the business.

He has now expanded from one stall to four to cope with the booming trade.

And, according to an antiques expert, the tapes could become an earner for the buyers too.

Antiques Roadshow star Eric Knowles, originally from Nelson, said the videos could increase in value and become the antiques of the future.

John, who runs the stall with his wife Shaheda Rashid, said musicals, westerns, children's and Asian videos topped the popularity list, and that he had gone from stocking 500 tapes to having 5,000.

He said: "People realise they can still watch videos at their homes and older people just think video is easier to use than DVD.

"Those with children also like it because it's a lot harder to damage video tape than it is a disc.

"I've just sold Singing in the Rain to an old man who was almost in tears because he said he'd been searching for it for months."

And he believes the stall has a bright future, even with the redevelopment of Blackburn Market scheduled to take place over the next three years.

He said: "I have done nothing in the way of advertising but people have found where we are.

"I always get requests for obscure titles and the look on their faces when I have what they want is priceless."

Many of the videos are selling for around £1, but the rarer the tape the more John charges.

"Mainly they range from £5 to £15, a rarer one might be even more," he added.

Mr Knowles, who is doing valuations and a talk at Colne Muni on Sunday February 10, said the rarer the programme or film on a tape, the more that it could become worth in the future.

Original packaging, in good condition, and the ability to still be able to play the video were also essential to its value, according to Mr Knowles.

He said: "There are certain films that you still can't get on DVD, you can only get them on VHS.

"There will be programmes of various sorts that will be wanted and people will have to get the tapes. They might prove to be the most desirable.

"You have also got great sets, put together for, say, James Bond.

"They may be worth something. The other thing is you still need the means to play the tapes.

"As long as there is access to video players, they could become worth something."