RADIO and TV weather girl Heather Stott's on-air remarks rubbishing Blackburn's shopping centre -- likening it to a 'tiled toilet' -- are more than flippant.

They are an insult to the town and its people and display immense ignorance of its major efforts to improve.

Indeed, the disclosure that this critic has not been to Blackburn for more than a decade underlines the fact that she hardly knows what she is talking about -- as does her refusal to withdraw her opinion of the shopping precinct.

To begin with, the place has undergone a major refurbishment -- one that got rid of the thousands of tiles that prompted her comparisons with a public toilet. If it ever looked like one, it no longer does and hasn't done for years.

Yes, it is true that Blackburn town centre still has some parts that are eyesores in need of urgent improvement -- especially run-down Lord Square that stands cheek-by-jowl with the shopping precinct and which threatens to blemish the major redevelopment now taking place in adjoining Church Street.

But credit is due to the council for embarking on an ambitious regeneration strategy that recognises the need not just for renewal, but for taking the town centre forward, not just for the sake of appearance but to improve its quality.

That aim this newspaper wholeheartedly supports. And while, awaiting the end results, we reserve judgment on how well that ideal is upheld, but there is no denying that the basic concept of bettering Blackburn is a good one.

And that effort can do without detractors -- especially a critical and erroneous TV weather girl who has not been to Blackburn for at least ten years. She should stick to her forecasts.