SENIOR church officials in Blackburn hope Blackpool soccer legend Jimmy Armfield OBE will bring a bit of 'street cred' to weekly worship, after he was made an honorary member of the diocese.

The former England captain, who played for his country 43 times, took up his new position as a Lay Canon at a special ceremony at Blackburn Cathedral yesterday.

Hundreds of people packed the church for the service, which also saw Keith Banks, a teacher and Diane Parker, a probation officer, take on the same roles.

The position has only been around for a couple of years after the rise of the Cathedral Measure in 1999 -- which acts like an act of parliament -- and is awarded to people in the local community who have played vital roles in their communities.

Jimmy, who has played the organ at Blackpool's St Peter's Church for the last 30 years, is also an NHS director, a school governor, president of Age Concern and an honorary fellow of the University of Central Lancashire.

He said: "It's a great honour to be made a Lay Canon because I have been involved with my local church since 1943. It's certainly nothing that I expected to be awarded.

"I suppose it would be like be getting a fellowship award at a university. It's all about being involved in the community, which is what all the church is about."

The Dean of Blackburn, the Very Reverend David Frayne, said he was pleased that Mr Armfield had been chosen to represent the diocese.

He said: "Lay canons are chosen because of their faithfulness to the church over a long period of years. They will be expected to attend meetings where they will speak particularly on their interests about the church in the community and help the cathedral relay these things to the diocese as a whole.

"Having Jimmy as a lay canon will, hopefully, give us a bit of street cred and at the same time give football a link with the church."

Jimmy said he was not really bothered who won the premiership, as long as his beloved Blackpool continued their success.