IT'S not the place where you would normally go for a good laugh.

But shopping centre bosses are hoping to have customers rolling in the aisles -- and not just browsing them.

This weekend sees the launch of Sunday Laff-in -- a series of comedy programmes to be held in Blackburn Shopping Centre from now until the end of the year.

As well as a host of performers keeping the customers satisfied, shoppers will be encouraged to join in with joke competitions and audience challenges.

The events are part of Sunday Live, which will also feature musicians and DJs, and are aimed at packing the punters in for Sunday trading.

And centre manager Arnold Wilcox-Wood said they will get more than they bargained for.

He said: "This will be great for the public with the class of entertainment they are getting and it's all for free. The event represents the biggest kind of entertainment that the shopping centre has ever promoted and it will be great."

The launch this Sunday will see a performance from comedian Alfie Joey alongside compere Brendan Riley.

It continues the week after then every other Sunday where top names from the world of comedy -- including Jeff Mirza and Valentine Flyguy -- are lined up to perform. A mini-theatre with stage, backdrop lights and sound will be erected in Victoria Court to add to the showmanship of it all.

And the organisers hope it will be an interactive performance with shoppers invited to submit a joke -- to be told by the comedian -- with the one that gets the biggest laugh getting a prize donated by traders. There will also be an audience challenge, between a member of the crowd and the comedian.

Schoolchildren will be an integral part of the events with two workshops designed specifically for youngsters. Stand Up For Blackburn is a comedy-based programme for secondary school pupils and will cover all aspects of comedy, from writing to actually performing. A Song For Blackburn is aimed at primary pupils where three schools will work together on a composed song.

Both workshops will culminate with a performance at a special Christmas show in the shopping centre in December.

Kevin Feardon, director of comedy club Rawhide and one of the organisers of the Blackburn event, said it will be great for the children.

He said: "By introducing pupils to the world of stand-up comedy we are opening them up to the possibilities of performance, and at the same time helping to build their confidence and self-belief."