FOUR LIBRARIES in Burnley and Pendle have extended their opening hours.

The new opening times, which came into effect this week, are in response to feedback from users and staff which showed people would welcome longer opening hours.

Pike Hill library will be open from 9.30am-12.30pm on Saturdays, with Coal Clough open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 12.30pm-1.30pm.

In Colne the library will now be open from noon-1pm on Tuesdays and Brierfield from noon-1pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Julie Bell, head of Lancashire County Council's library service, said: “We've increased opening times at districts across the county to make it even more convenient for people to access the range of library services from the heart of their community.

“We consulted people in each area before making these changes to ensure the service fits their own specific needs. These improvements are part of our plans to run the libraries even more efficiently providing an improved service at virtually no extra cost.

Mrs Bell added that the changes were intended to help to bring library opening times in line with local businesses.

She said that the new times would also be be more convenient for library users such as early-morning shoppers and parents on the school run.