A NEW £1.35million sports arena will help local children live longer by encouraging them to exercise, parents were told.

Blackburn Rovers players Brad Friedel, Roque Santa Cruz, David Bentley and Ryan Nelsen joined manager Mark Hughes to mark the opening of the facility at Darwen Vale High School.

The site has benefited from a £600,000 grant from Barclays and the Football Foundation as part of the £30million Barclays Spaces for Sports initiative.

An additional £750,000 was provided in three £250,000 payments from Blackburn Rovers, Blackburn with Darwen Council and the school itself.

The site, less than a mile from Ewood Park, will provide much needed facilities for local residents of all ages to participate in a range of sports.

The scheme was originally part of the split-site idea for the new Darwen leisure centre.

And it has been completed, despite the fact that a council U-turn has led to the existing Darwen leisure centre being refurbished on its current site.

Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Colin Rigby said: "It's a fantastic project and really shows partnership in the community.

"The more sports facilities in the borough, the better.

"A child born in Mill Hill will live on average 10 years less than a child born in Tockholes, and that is disgraceful in this day and age."

The arena boasts a four- court indoor sports hall suitable for short tennis and bowling, a 20-station community fitness gym, a reception area, changing rooms and car parking.

It will be used for Blackburn Rovers community projects, by the school for lessons and extra-curricular activities and by local sports groups in the community.

The arena was officially opened by Neil Parry, national director for hospitality and leisure at Barclays Commercial Bank who blew a referee's whistle to mark the occasion.

Ryan Nelsen, Rovers' 30-year-old central defender, said: "I think it's fantastic - I wish I had something like this as a child.

"Hopefully talent won't go to waste because there wasn't these resources, and there may even be future Blackburn Rovers stars training here.

"I think it's important that football clubs, with all the sponsorship and media coverage they get, give something back to the communities.

"We can contribute in a good way and that's what the Premier League is all about."