A LONG-established family butchers which crashed at the end of last year with debts of around £1.5 million owes hundreds of creditors.

Seventy-five year old Thornley & Son Ltd, Ridgewood Farm, Flat Lane, Heath Charnock, was put into liquidation last week.

Some 300 individuals and companies are waiting to be paid out by the failed firm which ran an abattoir, pork butcher and meat product manufacturing business.

The company ran into financial difficulties despite increasing estimated turnover to almost £10 million for the 12 months ended March 1995.

Later that year its directors sold a retail butchers shop in Bolton in order to concentrate on the wholesale side of the business.

In spite of winning exports orders, its cash flow problems worsened when increases in pig prices restricted the number of animals which the company bought for slaughter.

Administrative receivers, who were called in to take over of the running of the comany last November, finally closed the slaughtering business in January after failing to find a buyer.

Now creditors' claims are being assessed by business insolvency specialists from leading accountancy firm KPMG in Preston following the appointment of partners Mike Seery and Peter Terry as joint liquidators.

Mr Seery said creditors should send completed forms to the firm's office at Edward VII Quay, Navigation Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YP.

He added: "The abattoir is currently up for sale. Until this is achieved and the claims are agreed, it is not possible to estimate how much money might be available for preferential and unsecured creditors."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.