SNEAK thieves raided the Railway Hotel, in Hapton, just hours after a fire gutted parts of the building, taking advantage of a smashed bathroom window to get in, and stole cash and cigarettes.

Meanwhile, protesting residents organised a "rally for the valley" in a bid to prevent the carve up of the Ribble Valley into four parts under a local government shake-up.

And Burnley Crown Court heard how two men hauled a tabernacle from Holy Saviour's Church, in Nelson, and told police "the gold thing" was a safe.