Accrington Market manager Karen Hall is set to leave her post after 16 years.

The mum-of-two will say a fond farewell to traders and shoppers on Friday - but has promised to still come back regularly for her shopping.

Karen joined the Accrington Market Hall as manager in 2001 following a previous nine-year spell as assistant manager at Bury Market.

During her time in charge she has overseen the transition of the old covered market where Wilkinsons now stands to installing the pavilions on Peel Street and then planning the £2 million refurbishment of the Accrington Market Hall.

However, Karen, 52, says the biggest highlight of her tenure was welcoming the Queen to the 19th century building in May 2012 - although she admitted she found it difficult to keep the announcement under wraps.

She said: “It was very hard to keep it a secret because I had been involved with the planning team before anyone else knew she was coming.

"She came at the end of May. I was first notified at the beginning of February but the announcement wasn’t made until April. At first I thought it was a joke.”

Karen, from Baxenden, has now taken voluntary redundancy and will start her new purchase ledger associate position at Ciceley Commercials Mercedes-Benz dealership in Blackburn on July 3.

She said: “The last 16 years have gone very quickly. I’ve loved my job 99 per cent of the time.

“I’ve loved working with a lot of different people and meeting different people. No two days are the same.

“You can go from being in corporate meetings to helping a little old lady find her lost shopping bag to giving first aid to someone who might have fallen.

"As a market manager you are a jack of all trades and master of none. You have got to have knowledge of everything from the building itself to all the traders.

“Because this is my home town I knew quite a few of the traders already. I went to school with ‘Johnny Biscuit’ (John Healey of Fairbrothers) but after 16 years I’ve got to know everyone.

“I will enjoy coming back to shop here to do my shopping.”

Councillor Clare Cleary

Coun Clare Cleary, cabinet member for Accrington town centre, said: “We are very sad that Karen is leaving and we wish her all the best in her new job.

"She has been an outstanding member of staff and has worked at the council for a long time.

“We are looking forward to a new town centre manager starting and a fresh new look on Accrington town centre.”