DISAPPOINTED youngsters had to be consoled by their parents after they missed their turn to be photographed alongside Blackburn Rovers' Premiership trophy.

Some pupils at Rishton Methodist Primary School posed beside the cup on Thursday with the remaining children all set for their turn on the following day.

But on Friday parents waited for 30 minutes in the school hall before it was announced that the cup could not be returned.

Lorraine Waring, mother of five-year-old Ryan, said: "We were all at the school waiting for it at 2.30pm.

By 3pm no-one had contacted the school to say it wasn't coming.

"In the end the head teacher had to phone Rovers herself and then tell the parents that it wasn't coming back because it had had to be returned to the Premier League.

"We all paid £4 to let the children have their photos taken with it individually and it's not fair some missed out."

The head teacher at Rishton Methodist School said: "We are going to be in touch with Rovers to see if we can arrange for them to come another time."

Spokesman for the club, Ken Beamish, said: "Because of the demands of the Premier League it has been necessary to return the trophy earlier.

"Unfortunately this disrupted the plans made by our community programme with schools."

Another club spokesman explained that they found out the cup had to go back only at noon on Friday.

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