DARWEN Cemetery is the early favourite to take in a war memorial saved for the town by council bosses.

The 15ft-high stone memorial bearing the names of 15 First World War soldiers was due to be moved 100 miles from the old Park Road Methodist Church in Darwen to the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.

But Blackburn with Darwen Council stepped in at the last minute after reading about the news in the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

Instead of being moved to the north Midlands, it was dismantled and transported a couple of minutes up the road by soldiers to Whitehall Park, where it is still being stored.

The memorial's future in the town became uncertain after the businessman who bought the church as a home 20 years ago decided he did not want it in his garden. He had tried unsuccessfully for more than a decade to persuade Methodist Church leaders and previous council regimes to take it.

Instead, the National Memorial Arboretum offered to give it a home. The businessman accepted, thinking it was best for the memorial because it would be well looked after.

Today Coun Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration at the council, revealed that several potential sites - all in Darwen - were being discussed. He added: "The favourite is in the cemetery in the grass area. There aren't any frontrunners as such, it is more where it would be most appropriate.

"The cemetery is being considered because it has a lot of space for the memorial. There is another potential site we are looking at, but I cannot reveal any details about it at the moment.

"We have been approached by someone who wants to put it in this place in the town, but it needs to be looked into. I cannot put a timescale on how long these decisions will take."