CROWDS of people lapped up the Spring sunshine at Towneley Hall on Saturday for their first Spring Attractions Fair.

The fair was supported by the North West Development Agency's Foot and Mouth Recovery Fund to demonstrate what is happening in Burnley and the surrounding countryside this summer.

The fair aimed to help local visitor attractions to bounce back after the devastation of last years' foot and mouth outbreak

The afternoon of fun included music from The Pendle Jazzmen, a display by Rourkes's Forge and a behind the scenes tour to meet Richard Towneley and his family in the 17th century.

All the tourist attractions in the area were represented at the event with free vouchers and tickets for various events given away by tourism bosses.

Tourism Development Officer for Burnley, Jacqueline Whitaker, said: "This was a very exciting event which will hopefully help some of those attractions who suffered during the foot and mouth outbreak last year to recover their market share of tourism visits and have a much more successful year in 2002."