PARTS of East Lancashire were left with hardly any police cover because of the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool.

Claims were made that on one evening, only four uniformed officers were available to cover the streets of Blackburn and during a firearms incident in Accrington, police had to ask a neighbouring force for body armour as most of Lancashire's was at Blackpool.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.