THE complete sell-off of bus company Blackburn Transport to a private owner was agreed by councillors last night.

The business, owned by Blackburn with Darwen Council, will be sold to Blazefield Holdings, a Yorkshire-based arm of French transport company Transdev.

Councillors on the authority's executive board opted for a full sell- off instead of keeping a 10 per cent share and a place on the board, which would have allowed it some influence over the business's future.

Coun Kate Hollern, council leader, said it would have been tokenism' to have kept a share in the business.

But after the decision, the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) launched a scathing attack on the Labour-controlled council for "shedding its responsibilities."

The deal, involving an undisclosed sell-off price, means the company, which celebrated its 125th anniversary in April, will now become privately-owned for the first time in its history.

Jim Casey, union rep for the TGWU, said: "A council that professes to punch above its weight has taken the easy option."

He said the deal did not guarantee jobs, fares or routes and was not a positive step for the people of Blackburn and Darwen.

He said not even the name Blackburn Transport' was safe under the agreement, to be signed later this year.

"We feel we have been sold down the river. To me it seems they are washing their hands of Blackburn Transport.

"For 125 years the business has been owned by the council. I'm just surprised it's a Labour council that sold it off."

Council bosses said key routes would be protected under the agreement and the company had a track record of customer-focused services and would be replacing and updating the firm's bus fleet as part of the deal .

Coun Hollern, said: "My job is to make sure people get the best possible services. I don't think the general public care who delivers it.

"Blackburn Transport as it is, is certainly unsustainable."

Since the financial year ending in 2003, Blackburn Transport, which employs 130, has lost more than £600,000.

Colin Rigby, leader of the Conservative opposition, said: "They Transdev are a professional company and will do a good job for us."