WHEN a group of Burnley girls became "soccer widows" they decided to fight back.

They formed the Black Cats netball team and, instead of curling up in front of the fire on match days, went out to play games of their own.

Now the nine-strong squad of former St Hilda's High School students have joined Burnley Ladies' Netball League and are clawing their way to the top of the 4th division table.

They weren't pussyfooting around this week when they dimmed the Bright Sparks squad with a more-than-a-whisker 26-19 win at Towneley.

Team captain Sally-Ann Liles, 24, said: "It seemed that every week our boyfriends were away either playing football or watching it, so we decided to do something ourselves. Most of us hadn't played netball for years, but it's great fun and we're all enjoying it."

Nothing mangey either about the feline team's outfits.

The Black Cats got lucky with Sally's dad Paul, boss of the Simonstone HTS Consultancy, who agreed to sponsor the squad, with registration fees paid and a specially-designed catsuit and jacket on order.

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