AWARD-winning Burnley brewery, Moorhouses, has launched ambitious plans to have a pub in every major town within 150 miles of its base.

The move is part of a company expansion which also includes £100,000 of new office space at its base in Moorhouse Street.

The initiative follows a successful two years for the brewery, which has seen it move back into profit.

The company, whose real ales include Black Cat - voted best beer in Britain in 2000 - Pendle Witches Brew and Pride of Pendle, already supplies free houses throughout Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire and Cumbria.

Managing director, David Grant, said: "The past two years have seen a huge amount of work done to build on the enormous popularity of our beers but we still need to secure further routes to market.

"We believe this is best achieved through gaining new tenanted outlets in areas where we already have a strong allegiance.

"The new pubs will act as beacons or flagships for our ales."

The brewery was founded by William Moorhouse in 1865 at premises not far from the present production site on the other side of Accrington Road. He produced mineral waters but no alcoholic drinks.

By 1870, the business was doing so well that William decided to build his own premises and relocated to the building the brewery occupies today.

This brewery was purpose-built as a drink-manufacturing site, with the terraced houses on either side being added later to house workers and members of the Moorhouse family.

The company remained in the hands of the Moorhouse Family until 1978 when it was sold by its last surviving member, Thomas Fawcett. The brewery now produces 220 barrels of beer a week, with the installation of more fermenting vessels likely to increase capacity to 400 barrels a week, a level they hope to reach by 2005.

The company has six pubs of its own, three in Burnley - The General Scarlett, The Standy, and The Wheatsheaf - and The Craven Heifer, in Rawtenstall.

In addition to domestic sales, bottles are exported to Canada, USA, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden and Cyprus. Pendle Witches Brew is also brewed under licence in Cyprus.

Moorhouse's now has a payroll in excess of 50 full- and part-time employees, 12 of whom work directly at the brewery, and has a turnover in excess of £1.5million a year.

Tours of the brewery are available and run three times a week, including the chance to sup a pint at the General Scarlett opposite the site. For details, call 01282 422864.