EAST Lancashire football fans were left gutted as Germany dumped England out of the World Cup.

Pubs across the area were packed, while many people also staged parties at home, taking advantage of the glorious weather with barbecues.

But supporters were left angry that their football heroes let them down with a 4-1 defeat.

In Blackburn, fans crammed into a specially-built covered arena to watch a huge outdoor screen.

Before the game, 300 fans young and old, joined in the singing of the national anthem.

Fans jumped for joy and yelled in delight when England scored once, then twice, only to be devastated when officials failed to spot Lampard's shot had crossed the line.

At the Last Orders pub in the town centre, fans with England shirts, tattoos, and jester hats kept singing, but held their heads in their hands as things went from bad to worse.

One fan, Tony Tomlinson, from Blackburn said: “It’s embarrassing. All my flags are going are in the bin.”

In Burnley, Walkabout was full to the brim with fans who filled the town centre venue with emphatic songs before kick-off.

England's disallowed goal at 2-1 brought a collective rant from the hundreds of Burnley revellers until a clinical German display silenced the bar.

Greg Harmen, 42, from Burnley Wood, said: “We were outplayed in every area of the game.

"It might have been different if our equaliser was given, but to be honest, I think we were lucky to get through to this stage at all.”

Many of the England fans left the pub before the final whistle.

Police said no trouble took place during the game.

The game was watched by an average audience of 17.8 million, the BBC said.

But that figure peaked at 19.5 million as Germany grabbed their third and fourth goals in a matter of minutes to extend their lead and dash England's dreams.

The audience was England's second highest of the tournament, behind the match against Algeria which had an average of 18.8 million viewers.

It beat the clashes with the USA (average 17.6 million) and England's victory over Slovenia (12.8 million).