THOUSANDS turned out to watch as the first solar eclipse for 72 years put everything else in shade.

Schools, stores and workshops came to a halt as people took to the streets to view the spectacle, with special glasses, through pinhole cameras and even with black bin-bags over the heads to protect their eyes.

Sunny skies darkened, temperatures dropped and an almost eerie stillness gripped Burnley.

Said one social services worker: "We were a little disappointed because we thought it would be darker than it was."

In Burnley centre shops stopped serving as owners and customers stood in the doorways, their eyes fixed on the skies as they enjoyed the ecliptic experience of a lifetime.

It was the biggest turn out since Burnley won the FA Cup - and that was well before the last eclipse.

Scores trekked nearly 2000 feet up Pendle Hill from early morning for the best vantage point in the area.

Two Burnley Crown Court trials were halted as judges adjourned for half an hour to allow jurors to witness the celestial spectacle.

Many Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale schools blanked out windows for the safety of children. Pet sanctuaries brought animals indoors to ensure they too would not suffer eye damage.

Burnley's WH Smiths and other stores sold out of protective visors in an eleventh hour rush for viewers.

A cloud-filled sky over Pendle blocked out most of the eclipse's more dramatic effects but thousands of people in the area still enjoyed the spectacle.

Staff at Marsden Building Society's head offices in Nelson had a break from their desks while shoppers in the Place de Creil stopped to soak up the atmosphere.

Most schools followed safety guidelines covering windows and switched on the TV while other pupils wore special glasses and used pinhole cameras to watch the spectacle safely.

Birds in Stubbylee Park, Bacup, vanished to roost when the sky darkened but as the light filtered back through cockerels started their early morning wake up calls. "Happy Eclipse Day!" was the greeting to everyone who called the Planet Earth Astronomy Centre above Bacup and a host of activities were held including demonstrations, talks and safe viewing.

John Keegan, a partner in the centre, said: "The place was packed to capacity with 120 people attending. We used models to give demonstrations of exactly what was happening, we had slide shows and talks.

We used out telescope to project an image on to a piece of card for the eclipse to be watched in safety.

"We also showed people how to make their own pin hole cameras to project the image."

Burnley Health Care Trust said the accident and emergency department was aware of possibility of problems, but nearly eveyone heeded safety warnings.

Patients in the children's wards were kept indoors and tutors form the schools service discussed the eclipse and watched the spectacle on TV.

Students at Ivy Bank High School, Burnley, not only got to view the eclipse through special viewing glasses - they also spent all morning learning more about the rare occurrence. Any child who had eye problems was kept indoors and watched the eclipse on TV" At Gawthorpe High School, Padiham, pupils watched the eclipse from the safety of a TV screen with the blinds firmly shut.

Jim Cottle, deputy headteacher, said: "We reorganised the morning so that at the time of the eclipse the pupils were all in school for safety reasons."

Two Burnley neighbours had very different instruments through which to view the eclipse.

Audrey Simpson, of Westbury Close, made a pinhole viewer from an Oddie's cake box while Barbara Holsgrove, who lives further up the road, enjoyed the experience through an original 1927 Ecliptoglass.

Mrs Holgrove said: "I found the Ecliptoglass among my mother's things when she died four years ago and am glad I kept hold of it.

"I've been very excited about this eclipse and it was quite an experience to see."

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