RADIO weather girl Heather Stott caused a storm yesterday when she said Blackburn's shopping centre was like a "tiled toilet" live on air - although she hasn't visited the town for more than a decade.

Locals poured scorn on her views and said Blackburn has a sunny outlook.

After her blunder, Heather, who co-presents the breakfast show on BBC GMR and occasionally the weather on Radio Lancashire, told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph she hadn't meant to cause any offence, revealing she admired the people of Blackburn - but she refused to budge on her opinion about the shopping centre.

Heather is also a regular TV weather girl on North West Tonight.

She said: "Blackburn is a victim of its town centre. It has the most delightful people. But when I was last there about 10 years ago I thought the shopping centre was so ugly.

"As you drive in to the area you pass all these lovely Lancashire stone houses and there's the beautiful cathedral. And then you see the shopping centre and you think, 'What did they do that for?' It's like the world's biggest public lavatory, with tiles."

Her views however were neither shared nor welcomed by Blackburn folk and town leaders.

Arthur Wilcox-Wood, manager of the shopping centre, said: "She is entitled to her opinion but if she's not been here for 10 years and has missed a lot of improvements to the place.

"We had a full refurbishment in 1995 so she wouldn't have even seen that. And the regeneration in the town centre will vastly improve one side of the shopping centre.

"We admit it could be better but I think she has got us mixed up with the Arndale centre, in Manchester. That was christened the super-loo by Mike Harding. "

Coun Ashley Whalley, executive member of Blackburn with Darwen Council's regeneration committee, threw down the gauntlet to the presenter: "I would very much like to invite Heather Stott to see for herself how much progress has been made since she last came."

He said: "It's very frustrating when people make comments without knowing the facts.

The mayor, Coun John Williams, added: "She has obviously ignored the warmth of the people of Blackburn. Blackburn is a vibrant place that's doing very well and we are very proud of our shopping centre."