A PERMANENT exhibition to commemorate the sacrifice of the Accrington Pals is to be established in Hyndburn.

The news was warmly welcomed by VIPs at the memorial service to remember the regiment - 90 years after they left St John the Evangelist Church, Accrington, to go to war.

The Pals tribute will be housed at Oswaldtwistle Mills and plans are also being discussed to erect a statue in memory the soldiers in the borough.

St John's Church hosts an annual service to remember the 11th Service Battalion (Accrington), The East Lancashire Regiment.

The group of soldiers, who became known as The Accrington Pals, was made up of men from the town and other areas of East Lancashire and held its Valedictory Church Parade at the Addison Street church.

They were victims of one of the Great War's most ferocious battles - the Battle of the Somme - where a total of 235 Pals lost their lives in 10 minutes and a further 350 were injured on July 1, 1916.

Yesterday the church was once again filled as people paid homage to their courage.

Prior to the service, local historian Bill Turner revealed that there would be a permanent exhibition to commemorate the Pals.

He said: "It was agreed in principal two years ago but there were circumstances beyond our control which prevented it going ahead. This week we heard it can now happen so it is still in the early stages.

"I am very grateful to Peter Hargreaves at Oswaldtwistle Mills for giving us the space to do this."

The exhibition is set to include a series of framed prints from photographs kept in the local studies section of Accrington library and a welcome home flag from 1919.

Hyndburn MP Greg Pope, who attended the service, said he was delighted with the "long overdue" news. He said: "There is a very special place in the hearts of people in Accrington for the Pals after all these years and I am delighted Oswaldtwistle Mills will provide a permanent base like this. Bill Turner has worked magnificently to keep the Pals' memory alive."

The Coppice, in Peel Park, was originally named as one of the six sites to receive a Panopticon sculpture as part of a £1million Mid-Pennine Arts scheme to attract visitors to East Lancashire.

Hyndburn Borough Council rejected a giant UFO design for the sculpture last year and decided not to have one at all until a better design was found. Now council leader Peter Britcliffe is pursuing the idea of using the planned site as a tribute to the Pals.