STAFF at a bank were split down the middle when they decided to show their true colours for charity.

When the ten employees at Barclays Bank, in Union Street, Accrington, were coming up with ideas to get involved with this year's Children In Need one of them suggested wearing football shirts and decking out the office team colours.

The problem was that five of them are Blackburn Rovers fans and the other five Burnley supporters. So they made a compromise -- and decided to bring a competitive edge to it.

Two collection buckets were placed in the bank for well-wishing customers to drop donations into. One was claret and blue -- as in Burnley -- and the other was blue and white, the colours of Blackburn Rovers, and staff are seeing which one raised the most.

But, as first cashier Helen Dickinson explained, it's only a bit of fun.

"As well as raising money for Children In Need we wanted to do our bit for good relations between Blackburn and Burnley," said Helen, a season-ticket holder at Turf Moor for the past 10 years. "It has been a great laugh and the customers have enjoyed it. They think we are a bit mad but it's for a good cause."

The final score was 1-0 to Blackburn with their bucket raising £112 to Burnley's £60. A neutral collection bucket saw the final total raised standing at £250 which will be matched by Barclays

The overall figure raised in the North West today stood at £690,217.

Blackburn College was hoping to raise between £900 and £1,000 -- and give students the chance for revenge for all that homework. Julie Harris, lecturer in childhood studies, was gunged -- although she did have the last laugh when she roped in student Joe Anderson, 17, from Darwen, to be in on the gunging.

At Pioneer Health Studio, Bacup, volunteers took part in a 12-hour "rowathon" while fitness fanatics at Holden Vale Centre, Helmshore, got on to the stepping machines to climb the equivalent of Everest. Schools throughout the county took part. Infants from Westholme School, in Blackburn, dressed as teddy-bears for the day and St Wilfrid's High School took part in staff v students netball game.

Children at local nurseries turned up in fancy dress and there was a disco for seven to eight-year-olds at Habergham High School, Burnley.

There were activities at Lake View nursery, Foulridge, while staff, pupils and friends at Townhouse special school, Nelson, held a sale of badges and cycled the equivalent of travelling from the school to London on exercise bikes.