BURNLEY FC players were star guests as an outdoor education centre celebrated its revivial.

Burnley FC in the Community’s (BFCitC) Whitehough Outdoor Centre, in Barley, Pendle, has reopened.

The site had been used for outside education before Burnley FC in the Community took over the running of the outdoor education centre from Lancashire County Council in 2017.

The group secured a 125-year lease for the Barley New Road complex, as County Hall looked to sell off some of its assets due to budget cuts.

Thousands of pounds have been spent on upgrading the 22-acre site which had been disused since 2015. It will cater for up to 90 people and includes an extensive camping field, dormitories with amenities and shower blocks, a 40-seater conference suite and a lodge that can sleep up to 16 people.

It also offers activities including orienteering, bushcraft, survival skills, hill walking, high ropes and low ropes.

Burnley FC stars Jack Cork, Chris Wood and Adam Legzdins, alongside the mayor of Pendle, Cllr David Whalley, were on hand for the official reopening.

Around 40 children from Castercliff Primary Academy and Pendle Primary Academy took part in a range of outdoor activities with the stars, including bushcraft, high ropes and archery.

Cork said: “It’s been brilliant to come up to Whitehough today and check out all the work Burnley FC in the Community have done to breathe new life into this superb facility.

“We’ve really enjoyed getting stuck into the activities so I’m sure this will be so valuable to countless numbers of local young people.”

Cllr Whalley said he felt ‘privileged’ to open the new centre.

2018 also marks the 80th anniversary of Whitehough, which has prompted the Burnley FC in the Community to launch the ‘80 Years of Whitehough’ project.

If you want to submit a memory of Whitehough, visit www.burnleyfccommunity.org/whitehough-outdoor-activity-centre