SPIRALLING violence turned Burnley into a war zone, with violent clashes between police and troublemakers, a court heard.

The level of violence got so bad that police officers feared for their lives and one with military experience in Belfast and of the miners strike said he had never seen such aggression directed towards the police, Preston Crown Court was told.

The comments came on the first day of a week-long series of special hearings set up to deal with people charged in connection with last summer's disorder in the East Lancashire town.

Judge Peter Openshaw will preside over the sittings at Preston Crown Court, which are due to hear evidence and sentence 27 people charged with a variety of public order offences.

Four people yesterday pleaded guilty to violent disorder in Burnley on June 24 last year. They were Paul Duckworth, 40, of Malborough Street, Burnley; Andrew Porter, 35, of Parliament Street, Burnley; Ryan Grimshaw, 20, of Manchester Road, Burnley and Mark Beckett, 21, of Florence Avenue, Burnley.

Grimshaw and Beckett also pleaded guilty to burglary of an Asian shop which was looted during the disturbances.

William Baker, prosecuting, said experienced officers who had served in Belfast and during the miner's strike had never seen such aggression towards officers and a resident had described the disturbances as being like a war zone.

He told the court the trouble started outside the Baltic House pub in Briercliffe Road where a group of between 20 and 30 white men were drinking and chanting racist abuse.

Two Asian taxi drivers were attacked before the group moved to the White Hart pub in Church Street where the windows of an Asian restaurant were smashed and a taxi business raided. Police clashed with the group outside the Turf pub in Yorkshire Street after troublemakers began throwing bottles and stones at officers sent in to quell the disorder.

The violence worsened when the group moved to Plumbe Street, Oxford Road and Temple Street when two Asian shops were burgled and set on fire with the families trapped inside.

The Duke of York pub was also set on fire and troublemakers again clashed with police who were trying to keep them away from a group of Asians in the same area.

Petrol bombs were also thrown at police in Ivy Street when officers tried to disperse a group of white males.

The court heard that all four defendants were involved in the trouble outside the Turf pub, throwing missiles at police and that Grimshaw and Beckett were involved in the burglary and looting of an Asian shop in Oxford Road later the same night.

They will be sentenced on Friday along with the other 23 defendants but have been told to expect custodial sentences.