THOUSANDS of people from across the North West were given the chance to meet their footballing heroes at a Blackburn Rovers open weekend.

And at the Ewood Park event the doors were even thrown open to the Jack Walker Stand so fans had the rare opportunity to view Rovers' trophies. Also on hand to sign autographs for fans were Rovers stars, including Garry Flitcroft, Andy Cole, Craig Short and David Thompson.

Meanwhile on the Darwen end car park hundreds of visitors faced up to their fears on a reverse bungee jump where they were shot into the air - 180 feet up!

Keith Coulter, KC Productions, has used the jump to help raise thousands of pounds for Pendlebury Children's Hospital and this weekend helped add to the total.

He said: "I am a trustee for the hospital so that is my chosen charity but people can get sponsored for other charities too.

"This weekend was very successful with a lot of people taking part for charity and for fun."

One participant was Susan Fielding of Darwen who raised more than £300 for the children's hospital.

Other attractions included a penalty competition run by Burn FM, the J Silcock's funfair, a craft fair, psychic and complimentary therapy stalls, football memorabilia displays, a disco and exhibitions by the emergency services and British Army.

Nick Hall, head of business development for Blackburn Rovers, said: "We used to have a very small event to meet the players and that was it.

"Then we decided to extend that and make it into a fun weekend. This is the third event like this and it has gone very well.

"Saturday was quieter because the weather was poor in the morning but the Sunday made up for it. Most people were from Blackburn, but there were also visitors from Lancaster, Manchester and Liverpool too.

"The highlight was seeing all the families which never come into the Jack Walker Stand being able to see the memorabilia and go into areas they have not been before."