HANDWRITTEN lyrics of the Beatles song which immortalised Blackburn with the line about the town's 4,000 potholes are going under the hammer.

The double-sided sheet of paper is expected to sell for more than £300,000.

John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for Beatles hit A Day In The Life starts with 'I read the news today oh boy' - written in capital letters, along with cross-outs and corrections.

It contains the line: "4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire. Though the holes are rather small, they had to count them all. Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall."

The controversial song was the final track of the band's 1967 album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which spent 27 weeks at the top of the UK charts.

According to Sotheby's, the document provides a 'rare glimpse into the Beatles' songwriting dynamic' with Lennon noting where Paul McCartney would insert his upbeat verses.

A Day In The Life was banned by the BBC when it was released because of the line 'I'd love to turn you on' which supposedly encouraged drug use.

The lyrics, which previously belonged to Beatles' road manager Mal Evans, have a guide price of 500,000 to 700,000 dollars (£327,310 to £458,235) when they go on sale in New York on June 18.