ADMINISTRATORS working at Hyndburn’s largest and oldest textile mill have failed to save a third of the workforce’s jobs.

Twenty-seven employees of Hilden Manufacturing’s hemming department were made redundant last Friday after administrators Ernst and Young failed to secure a buyer.

The news comes less than a month after Manchester-based soft furnishing company Vision Support Services (VSS) safeguarded 53 of the company’s 80 jobs.

Hilden, based at Clifton Mill, in Pickup Street, Accrington, was established in 1874 by the family descended from textile pioneer James Hargreaves, the inventor of the Spinning Jenny.

The company, which has an annual turnover of £15M, continued to trade while administrators tried to sell it as a going concern. It was once a world leader in importing and finishing bed, table and bathroom linen for hotels, restaurants, councils and health authorities.

A spokesman for Ernst and Young said: "Unfortunately we were unable to sell the hemming part of the business and the 27 remaining members of staff based at Woodnook Mill were made redundant on Friday 29 August."

The Hilden group was the parent company of giant retail complex Oswaldtwistle Mills, which is unaffected.