FOOTBALL fever gripped East Lancashire today as Terry Venables and his England heroes prepared to take on the Germans in the biggest soccer match on English soil for 30 years.

Pubs and off-licences were being left high and dry by fans stocking up for tonight.

England shirts were selling like a salvo of Shearer shots and sales of the terrace theme song Three Lions On A Shirt were bursting the sales net like a Stuart Pearce piledriver. But many shift workers in the area have had the whistle blown on lengthy tea breaks so that they could watch the game and supermarkets said they would remain open until 8pm as usual.

Stocks of beer, wine and spirits were running low and the celebrations look set to increase if England triumph in tonight's showdown.

More staff were drafted in and extra drink ordered to deal with the demand at pubs and off-licences across the county. Tills have not stopped ringing since the start of Euro '96.

Roger Yates, co-owner of three Blackburn off-licences Edwards' Wine Shop and two Cheers outlets, said: "Business has never been so good."

Roger, whose shops have coped with the demand only due to vast warehouse stocks, added: "England is a sport minded nation and most people want a few cans as they watch the match. During Euro '96 we have had to continually pump beer into the shops from the warehouse as a lot of people are coming in and buying 10 or 12 cans for the match."

Sharon Swanton, assistant manager for Morrisons, Blackburn, who are selling a luncheon meat depicting a footballer and Euro '96 slogan, estimated that sales of alcohol in the store have been up by 25 per cent.

She said: "People tend to stock up a couple of days before matches. Crisps and pop sales have also increased."

And it's all hands on deck tonight at the Hare and Hounds pub in Lammack, Blackburn, as dozens of punters are expected to arrive to watch the game on a giant screen.

Supervisor Philip Watson said: "We have been very busy and the pub will be packed out tonight because it will be a repeat of the 1966 World Cup final. We have got extra staff on and expect to be drunk dry by the end of Euro 96!"

But disappointed shift workers were left crying in their brews as local firms have refused to let them home early or allow a TV on the shopfloor.

ICI, Darwen, said because of a continuous shift system, it was impossible to allow workers to watch the big clash.

A spokesman for Crown Paints in Darwen said: "We can't just stop production - we need the bodies here."

Blackburn-based Scapa said they would only have a small shift working between 2 and 10pm. A spokesman said: "Our shift system just doesn't allow us to let workers watch the match and we wouldn't allow a TV on the shopfloor."

Another place where there will be no laughter tonight is at the Rubber Chicken Comedy Club, Blackburn. The organisers decided there wouldn't have been enough customers to raise the smallest titter.

England will be cheered on tonight by Blackburn's own Mr Venables - John Venables, of Langdale Road, Blackburn.

John, a senior finance manager, has been nicknamed "Terry" ever since he was in school.

He said: "I think it will be fairly even. The German team is very strong and it will need England to be on their best form. If it goes into extra time it will be anybody's game."

Fans have been snapping up £39.99 England shirts all week as soon as they come into stores.

Ahmed Khalifa, manager of Allsports, Blackburn, said: "We've been selling between 35 and 40 white shirts a day, which is amazing when you think that we normally only sell one or two a month.

"Everyone just wants to wear the three lions on their shirt, just like it says in the song.

"But the grey top hasn't been doing so well. We'll be putting that at the front of the store today to see if there's any interest."

Local record stores are ordering in extra copies of the Three Lions on a Shirt record as it is expected to go back to the top of the charts this Sunday.

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