A MAN has been arrested following a public appeal to trace him.

Officers appealed for witnesses after a car is thought to have deliberately crashed into a couple who were standing outside a nightclub in Rawtenstall.

The man and woman were walking along Bacup Road close to the Revival Nightclub at around 11.30pm on Christmas Eve when they were struck.

The driver of the vehicle then drove away from the scene.

Earlier in the evening the couple had been verbally attacked at a nearby pub and it is believed this incident is linked to the first one, and is possibly racially-motivated.

Neither the man nor the woman were seriously injured.

Police issued an appeal earlier this week.

DC Melissa Chadwick, of Burnley CID, said: “We are appealing to anyone who witnessed this incident, or who has dashcam footage of it, to get in touch with us as soon as possible.”

Contact Burnley CID on 01282 472518 quoting incident number 1500 of December 24th.