A LEADING Church of England official visited East Lancashire to see community cohesion work.

The visit of the Rev Andrew Davey, a national adviser for the church on community and urban affairs, coincides with the 10th anniversary of the Burnley riots this week.

The Rev Davey visited churches in Blackburn and Burnley and spoke to ministers to see first hand the work that was being put in.

He said: “I was invited by the Church of England in Lancashire to see the work going on around community cohesion and to speak to parish ministers.

“It was purely coincidental that this week is the 10th anniversary of the riots but it is obviously a big talking point at the moment.

“I am impressed with a lot of the work going on and the churches commitment to being a church for all the community, and not just people who attend every week.”

The Rev Davey said he had been impressed with the work voluntary community and faith groups had done in the area.

He said: “Groups like Building Bridges and other community groups have worked hard to foster good engagement and good community relations.

“They have worked with young people which is really important as we need to nurture the leadership of the future.”