FUTURE England World Cup matches will be shown on the giant screen outside Blackburn town hall.

Cllr Andy Kay, the man in charge of the revolving digital hoarding, made clear all the national football sides games would be covered for crowds in Town Hall Square and King William Street.

He spoke out after confusion on Tuesday over whether the new screen would show England 2-1 victory over Tunisia in Volgograd.

In the morning Blackburn with Darwen Council regeneration boss Cllr Phil Riley said the side's opening Match of Russia 2018 would not be covered for fear of taking trade away from pubs and bars in the town.

Later that day the the council contacted the Lancashire Telegraph to say the match would be shown, despite some traders initially being told the game would not be.

Cllr Riley said: "When I spoke to the paper in the moniong the final decision was being reviewed and I understood the match would not be screened. That proved to be incorrect."

Cllr Kay, who is responsible for the 38ft high structure, said yesterday: "To avoid future confusion, let me making clear that a decision has been taken to show all future England matches and other important and interesting games on the Town Hall screen.

"We showed some of the early matches last week and they and England-Tunisia were well-received."

England play Panama at 1pm on Sunday and Belgium at 7pm on Thursday in their remaining Group G matches.

Ricky Johnson, owner of the Tiki Monkey Bar in King William Street, said: "This is excellent news. It's good to be told definitely. This is good for bringing the community of Blackburn back together."

Cllr Riley, who watched the match from the nearby Drummer Arms micro-pub said: "There were about 30 people there because of the rain but it seemed to be appreciated."