THE demise of the pop group Steps has hit Radcliffe's Rebecca Watson a lot harder than most fans.

That is because Rebecca (12) of Knowles Street was their official number one fan.

She was cheering along with thousands of other fans at the group's sell-out concert at the MEN arena the weekend before Christmas.

But Rebecca, pictured with some of her Steps souvenirs, was devastated by the Boxing Day announcement that the band had split after five years at the top.

"I'm really upset. I thought they'd stay together forever," said Rebecca who got the band's calendar, book and latest CD for Christmas. It was back in November 1999 that the famous five popped in to Rebecca's for Sunday tea.

Her friend, Laura Norris, wrote to the BBC children's show Live and Kicking telling them how Rebecca was such a huge Steps fan. The producer phoned Rebecca's mum Julie and arranged for the secret visit.

The first Rebecca knew about it was when she was phoned live on air and 24 hours later Faye, "H", Lisa, Claire and Lee were brewing up cups of tea in the family kitchen and playing with Rebecca's pet rats, Honey and Mizzi!

Although she enjoyed her final Steps concert at Christmas, Rebecca detected something was amiss.

"Usually they say when their next concerts will be, but this time they didn't, which I thought was a bit strange."

The group, who sold 12 million records and were one of the most successful live bands in recent UK showbiz history, have revealed they intend to pursue solo careers.

"I've not got a favourite, I like them all, so I'll be following their solo careers and buying their records," said Rebecca.

In the meantime she can remember the happy times by playing her collection of Steps CDs and treasuring the photographs of the band dancing with her in her front room.