ACCRINGTON'S historic Sacred Heart Church finally closed its doors at the weekend after a special thanksgiving mass.

The Feast of the Sacred Heart mass, which was given to mark 150 years of prayer and devotion in the parish, was conducted by the Bishop of Salford, the Rt Rev Terence Brain, and priests connected to the parish over the years.

The Blackburn Road church was packed for the final service and guests included the Mayor of Hyndburn, Councillor Miss Win Frankland, and Hyndburn MP Greg Pope.

Youngsters from Sacred Heart and St Oswald's Primary Schools brought up offertory gifts and the prayers of the faithful were given by pupils from Mount Carmel High School.

The service was the final event to mark the closure of the church. Earlier, visitors had been given the chance to take a trip down memory lane during an exhibition of the 134-year history of Sacred Heart and the area's Catholic community.

The decision to close and demolish the building, which was opened by the Jesuit Fathers in 1869 for the growing numbers of Catholics in the town, was the result of a year-long review by the Diocese of Salford.

Parishioner Leo Warren said: "The church had no permanent priest, the congregation was steadily declining and there was extensive dry rot. These three factors led to the very sad decision to close the church.

"It was built in 1869 to meet the very urgent needs of those days. Today's needs are equally pressing but are very different ones. This is recognised but the decision to close is still very difficult to accept."