AN East Lancashire law firm has expanded out of the area for the first time by opening a new office in Manchester.

Farleys, which has six offices in East Lancashire - four in Blackburn, one in Burnley and one in Accrington - has opened a new branch off Deansgate in the heart of the city centre.

The move is a bid by the firm, which was established in Blackburn in the mid-1950s and has more than 175 staff, to branch out into a city for the first time.

Farleys bosses hope this will complement their existing business in East Lancashire. If successful, the office could be the first of a number opened in large cities, but Paul Schofield, partner and the firm's expert in complex fraud cases, has revealed the firm will always have its heart in East Lancashire.

He said: "What we are doing is building on existing links we already have in Manchester.

"A lot of the serious fraud cases we handle are in Manchester and not having an office there is holding us back. That is what it is all about.

"This is an expansion. We will always be in East Lancashire, there is no question about that. We have six offices here, we will always have them. That is our core business.

"This is a difficult and challenging time for law firms, and we just have to move with the times and progress and develop the business and we feel Manchester is the place."

Farleys staff includes 14 partners and 75 lawyers. The new office will offer services including corporate and commercial work, family law and corporate and personal insolvency to clients in Manchester.

Mr Schofield, who will take a lead role in the new office, is ranked by legal guide, Chambers, as one of the leading lawyers in the country for fraud and criminal work. He joined the firm in 1977 and lives in Blackburn.

He was also one of the UK's first members of the Serious Fraud Panel - now the Specialist Fraud Panel - when it launched in 2000.

If the Manchester office is successful there is a chance Farleys could open an office elsewhere and expand the firm even further.

Mr Schofield said: "It's a major commitment from us and if it goes well we will expand."