THIS image showed Chatburn coming to terms with being struck by two German bombs on October 30, 1940.

Unusually, the raid took place during the day and caused considerable damage to the village, which lies deep in the Ribble Valley - away from the usual big city targets.

One bomb demolished a house and the other exploded on a roadway, destroying a post office and several houses.

A petrol lorry was flipped onto the driveway of a house and blazing fuel was hurled across the road.

The tanker driver and two other people were killed as a result of the raid.

Five others were taken to hospital and several more were treated for minor injuries.

The picture to the right shows the wrecked lorry lying amid the ruins in the village centre.

Britain was battered an eight-month barrage of bombing from the Nazis during 1940 and 1941.

The familiar sound of air-raid sirens could be heard across the area as towns and villages were hit as bombers targeted nearby major cities, such as Manchester and Liverpool.

Among the places hit in East Lancashire, bombs brought carnage to Crown Street, in Darwen, Fielding Terrace, Altham West and Bennington Street and Ainsworth Street in Blackburn.