A BIRD table accompanied by three small candles is to be the lasting memorial to the tragic Waddington sisters who died in a house fire.

A meeting was held between Padiham Town Council officials and parks bosses to agree a design.

And the girl's parents - Barry and Jayne Waddington - today said they are touched by plans to erect a statue in the town in memory of the girls.

Council officials put the idea to the couple earlier this year as a tribute to the three girls, who died when fire ripped through their home in Lancaster Drive, Hapton, in February.

Now the granite feature, with a plaque, is set to be placed in Padiham's Centenary Gardens as a tribute to Louise, 11, Hayley, 10 and Gemma, seven.

The memorial's bird theme was chosen to symbolise the girls' love of feeding birds in the park. The council is hoping to have the feature in place in the Burnley Road park within the next couple of weeks.

Jayne said: "It is fabulous the people of Padiham have done something like this. It will be here forever and we are very grateful to the people of town for what they have done.

"The council asked us if we wanted a bench in memory of the girls, but as the kids used to go down there to feed the birds we thought something bird-related would be better."

Elizabeth Bolton, clerk for Padiham Town Council, secured funding from council coffers.

She said: "We want to make sure the memorial is fixed to the ground to prevent vandalism. We would hope that it wouldn't be vandalised but in our view prevention is the key.

"We have taken our time in coming up with a final design because we wanted to ensure we made the right choice and that Jayne and Barry were happy with it."