THE Council has been flooded with nominations to light a Platinum Jubilee beacon at Darwen Tower ahead of the June occasion.

The closing date for suggestions is Wednesday, May 11.

Blackburn with Darwen Council is supporting Darwen Scouts to organise the beacon lighting on the evening of Thursday, June 2, as part of a national event to mark the Queen’s 70-year reign.

It has already been inundated with nominations of who should do the honours, and Darwen local historian Tony Foster has suggested two people should perform the ceremony.

The beacon lighting is part of a long tradition used to celebrate Royal Jubilees, Royal Weddings and Coronations.

As well as marking the Queen’s 70-year reign, it will mark official unveiling of Jubilee Tower following vital restoration works funded by the Darwen Town Deal, Darwen Rotary and Blackburn with Darwen Council.

Martin Eden, the council’s operations director, said: “We’ve had a tremendous response to our appeal to nominate a resident to light the Jubilee beacon at Darwen Tower.

“The number of entries has far surpassed our expectations with many worthy candidates already put forward.

“We’ll be reviewing the entries following the closing date next week and given the strength of the community response, we’re looking at ways to incorporate as many of those put forward as possible.

“This will be a fitting event to mark both the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and also the completion of the works to restore Jubilee Tower.”

Tony Foster added: "I see Blackburn with Darwen Council wants people to nominate someone to unveil the restored Darwen Tower.

"I don’t think it should be down to one person to perform the ceremony. I would suggest that two people must be involved in opening the Tower.

"John Jacklin, along with the Darwen Rotary Club, has taken a major role in fundraising for the Tower’s renovation. Clearly, he must be included with the opening."