FIRE chiefs believe children are to blame for a blaze that damaged an Accrington church on the eve of it's 15th anniversary.

Fern Gore community church, a former Cabaret Bar in Rimington Avenue, Accrington, opened its doors in November, 1986.

The congregation is determined to continue with its celebrations, including a social day today, and a puppet theatre on Sunday.

The church, part of the Melbourne Street Christian Institute, Oswaldtwistle, suffered attacks of vandalism at the start of its life, but Mark Haydock, Deacon of the Church, believed he had seen the last of it.

He said: "This is unexpected. We did have trouble in the early days. We have had a few break-ins over the years, kids just messing about."

The fire was reported at about 4.30pm yesterday.

Station Officer Pete Ashworth, of Accrington fire station, said: "When we arrived we found there was a severe fire behind a pair of escape doors at the rear of the building. We had to gain entry by breaking in the door. The door was destroyed, along with around a metre square of the floor. "The fire has all the hallmarks of children playing with matches."

This latest incident follows a series of recent vandal attacks on churches in the area.

In September arsonists struck at the Sacred Heart and St Edward's RC Church in Darwen. The Blackburn Road Church was set alight early one morning after a petrol bomb was thrown through the window, causing about £10,000 of damage to the building.

And church officials at St James' on Winterton Road, Darwen, are hoping to keep vandals away from their church by using a brightly lit red cross. The church has been the target of vandals for years, and in recent months yobs have used a hammer to wreck stone pillars and six Victorian gravestones.