THE revival of a much-loved past-time which was popular in the 1980s is under way in Rishton.

A group of locals have been lacing up their roller skates and whizzing around the town, inspired by a skating experience in Wigan last month.

Co-founder of the Rishton Rollers, emergency services operator Janine Rogers, organised the surprise skating trip for her 40th birthday.

She said: “We were dressed as pirates because we were going on a ‘booze cruise’ but nobody knew about the surprise (of going roller skating).

“I had 47 or 48 guests and they really enjoyed it.”

Janine, from Cliff Street, described herself as a 70s child obsessed with the discos in the 1980s and said she was ‘aiming for a full-on revival’ of the once-popular and still loved sport.

After the trip to Wigan, Janine bought a pair of boots and started skating with her friend.

Sally Randall, 35, said: “There was just two of us to start with but the most we have had now is 16. Not many people have received their skates yet, whereas I have had mine for years.

“You burn 215 calories every half an hour roller skating. It’s fine and it’s good exercise for people who don’t want to work out alone.”

Janine added: “The response was so much better than we expected. We were skating around the street and bumping into people and they were saying they wanted to join us, so we decided to open the group.

“12 people have bought skates in the last week alone.”

The group met at Norden High School during the summer holiday and is now on the lookout for a permanent home.

Janine said: “We are trying to get in the gym hall in Norden but somebody has to test the floor first to see if it’s suitable.

“We don’t mind travelling within a reasonable distance but we want to stay local because we are the Rishton Rollers.”

For more information on the group, search for Rishton Rollers on Facebook, found at www.facebook.com