THOUSANDS of pounds are spent every year on tourist information centres and glossy brochures advertising the attractions of towns and cities.

Yet the first impressions many travellers will get of a town is when they get off the bus or train.

In the case of the traveller stepping off a train on to the platform at Blackburn, he or she can hardly be optimistic about what is in store for them in the town itself.

Peeling paint, weeds, grime, litter, graffiti - they are all there at Blackburn Railway station and they combine to paint a very grim picture.

Hopefully, people who travel through Blackburn rather than getting off don't let the station they see through the carriage window give them the wrong impression of the town.

For those who regularly use the station with its services to Colne, Burnley, Clitheroe, Manchester, Bolton, Blackpool, Preston and Yorkshire, there is a uniform response to the news that it is finally to be refurbished - "It's about time too."

Denise Conway and Steven McCarthy, of Marsh House Lane, Darwen, use the station around twice a month when they do their shopping. Steven said: "It's not a nice place at all. There's a bit of a funny smell and it's very untidy. If I was going to use one word to say what needs doing at it then it would be 'paint'."

Denise added: "The thing that really annoys me is there are no toilets for women or men. What exactly are you supposed to do if you need to go to the loo?"

Yasmin Master and Ufta Ahmed, of London Road, Blackburn, travel from their home town station on a regular basis.

Yasmin said: "The thing that strikes me as really silly is that there are no proper waiting rooms.

"The only waiting area is absolutely rubbish and the seats on the platform are really uncomfortable.

Ufta added: "If somebody comes from out of town to Blackburn and sees this place it must really put them off.

"If they are spending £4 million on it then I think the whole place wants sorting out."

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