BLACKBURN and Darwen will fall silent as the borough pays its respects on the first anniversary of the Manchester Arena attack.

Short civic ceremonies will take place outside both Blackburn and Darwen town halls on Tuesday, May 22, when there will be a minute of silence and speeches starting at 2.30pm.

Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Cllr Mohammed Khan, said: "We will be joining many places across the country which will observe a minute silence.

"It’s important that people can gather together to pay their respects and show solidarity with Manchester. Many people from our communities were personally affected.

"We know people from Blackburn and Darwen attended the concert themselves or had family there. Everybody is welcome."

A total of 22 people were killed in the attack, including Whalley mum Michelle Kiss, and 512 injured by suicide bomber Salman Abedi at the concert.

The main focus of the anniversary is in Manchester where a live screening of the memorial service at Manchester Cathedral will take place in Cathedral Gardens.

The cathedral service will be attended by an invited congregation including the families of those who lost their lives, those injured, first responders, civic leaders and senior national figures.

For the thousands who were affected by these events, the service will also be live streamed at York Minster, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral and Glasgow Cathedral.