Crowds gathered to see the next piece of the jigsaw put in place for the new £1.8m Shah Jalal Mosque, funded from charitable donations from the Muslim community, being developed on former derelict land between Belford Street and Burns Street.

The white dome, which cost around £100,000, was put in place on Wednesday in front of residents, mosque co-ordinator Mr Mozaquir Ali, secretary Coun. Mohammed Malik, architect Dr Najib Gedal, designer Mr Ian Ferrier and Mr John Devassy from Burnley Metal Crafts.

Mr Ferrier, who works for IJF Developments, said: "It is a Burnley project and I'm a Burnley man so it was nice to be involved with the project. We were obviously very grateful for the work in these pressing times and I am very pleased with the outcome."

Initially, the town's first purpose-built mosque was to be a three-storey building with a basement to be used for community and social purposes and was estimated to cost £3.6m. However, a decision was taken to reduce it to a two-storey building due to the cost.

Coun. Malik said: "Myself and the community are really proud to see the dome go on. It was a dream from our perspective to see the dome finally put in place. It is a great achievement for the community and we can't wait to have the mosque completed which will hopefully be within two years."

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