SHOPPERS in Blackburn town centre lent their hands to a region-wide campaign to raise awareness of adoption.

The event, to celebrate the launch of National Adoption Week yesterday, formed part of Blackburn with Darwen Council’s ongoing adoption recruitment campaign ‘Let’s Adopt’.

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Shoppers got their hands messy to highlight the need for potential adopters to come forward by putting their prints on card to pledge their support for the campaign.

The council’s adoption service team launched the initiative and gave advice to the public. The team will also be at Darwen Market on Friday to collect more handprints for the project.

The handprints will be used by Blackburn College students to create artwork that will be displayed in Blackburn and Darwen next year.

Coun Frank Connor, executive member for children’s services at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “The Let’s Adopt campaign has received an outstanding response since its launch earlier this year.

“We have witnessed a noticeable increase in the number of enquires from potential adopters. However, the need for permanent homes for children in our care still remains, especially for those who are harder to place, such as sibling groups or children with complex needs.”

Lancashire County Council has also launched a recruitment drive as part of National Adoption Week, with particular focus on finding homes for sibling groups.

County councillor Matthew Tomlinson, cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said: “We realise that when people first start to consider adoption, they don't usually envisage adopting two or more children. But I'm hoping that our campaign during National Adoption Week will encourage them to think it over.

“We keep brothers and sisters together whenever we can. For children who cannot be brought up by their own parents, those sibling relationships take on extra importance. They’re an emotional anchor in what may have been a very uncertain world so far.

“Adopting more than one child takes a special kind of commitment, and a willingness to accept a big change in circumstances. But we know it can work, because we already have some very happy families here in Lancashire which were created when people adopted siblings.”