THREE men have been charged over the death of a man in Colne.

The 50-year-old man, named locally as Steven Pye, was initially taken to Royal Preston Hospital in a critical condition on Tuesday after being assaulted in Venables Avenue, Colne.

Mr Pye died of his injuries on Wednesday.

Miles Whitefield, 41, of Allendale Street, Colne, Mark Smith, 40, of no fixed address, and Anthony Turner, 64, of New Oxford Street, Colne, have all been charged with wounding. They are due to appear at Burnley Magistrates’ Court this morning.

A fourth man, aged 25, from Colne was released without charge.

Officers are continuing to ask anyone with information to come forward.

DCI Geoff Hurst, who is leading the investigation, said: "Firstly I would like to offer my condolences to the family and friends of the deceased at this time. Our thoughts are with them.

"Our investigation into what happened to the victim in the lead up to his death is still on-going and we are continuing our enquiries to try and establish the sequence of events.

"If you have any information that could assist us with our enquiries, I would urge you to speak to us as soon as possible.

"While we have three men now charged, we’re still keen to speak to anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident. “We are particularly keen to speak to a dog walker who we believe was in Venables Avenue around the time of the assault. If this was you, please contact us."

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting log number 0530 of Tuesday, July 18th or independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.