THE death of Diana, Princess of Wales prompted many East Lancashire people to offer their time to help others. And months after her death, people are coming forward to see what they can do, according to a Blackburn volunteer bureau.

The Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Council for Voluntary Service received large numbers of calls, letters and visits from people offering help after the Princess's death last year.

Bureau organiser David Mcloughin said: "The Princess of Wales was one of the most famous volunteer workers, and her charity work inspired many people.

Since her death, it seems people have realised what a positive impact an individual can have, and we have been inundated with calls from people wanting to help others."

"But what has surprised me is that in Blackburn people have not stopped coming forward. We have had 10 new people come in the last four days.

"A lot of people have got involved in voluntary work, and we are now running out of placements for volunteers."

The bureau is now asking organisations to look at how they can use extra volunteers to help them with their work. Any organisations who need people willing to give their time should contact David on 01254 694113.

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