A DARWEN funeral director has come to the rescue of the town's morris dancers by providing a venue for their annual competition.

In response to an appeal for sponsors the Co-operative Funeral Service in Hacking Street has hired Darwen Leisure Centre on Sunday for the troupe to host its competition, in which nearly 400 people from all over the north west, are expected to take part.

Darwen Morris Dancers is a totally self-funding group for girls in the town. The group wanted to make sure the show stayed in Darwen but the only venue large enough was the town's leisure centre, which was out of their price range at almost £300.

In addition, the funeral director is also offering a raffle prize to win four tickets for the local cinema. The four lucky winners will also be taken to and from the cinema by limousine.

Co-operative Funeral Society regional services manager Angela Worrall said: "As a local organisation, we wanted to help support the community and play our part in ensuring the town's morris dancing group were able to host this popular event in their home town."

Mrs Worrall will present the trophies at 5.30pm at the end of the tournament.