GALLONS of paint were given away by Blackburn with Darwen Council under an award winning recycling scheme.

The paint was donated to the council and is passed on to worthy causes at the recycling centre in George Street, Blackburn.

People in the borough were asked to hand over their left-over tins of paint and the council has shared it out to local charities and voluntary groups.

But due to the success of the scheme the council has found itself with a surplus and the doors of the store were thrown open to the public. Councillor Ashley Whalley said: "Since the scheme was introduced we have given away more than 2,500 litres of good quality second hand paint.

"We now need more room to accommodate the popular colours required by the groups and the organisations that benefit from the scheme and as a thank-you to the residents of Blackburn and Darwen we were delighted to throw open our for this great give-away.

"Paint can be a health and environmental hazard when not disposed of correctly, so this is the ideal way to make sure unwanted paint does not cause a risk to health and help local people at the same time."

The scheme was recognised at last year's Grimewatch Awards organised by the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

For further information on the project people should ring Stuart Hammond, the council's recycling officer on 01254 585614.