YOUNG anglers due to fish in a match at Bradshaw Fisheries were ferried to their destination by police after a fatal road accident closed the road.

As the Bradshaw Road past the Fisheries entrance was blocked by the accident on Thursday morning, and the road was sealed off, the 20 youngsters had no way of reaching the fishing ground.

Julie Applegate, a mum who was helping out at the competition, said: "We were holding a qualifying match for a major national competition. The road was closed off and many of the children had been dropped off by their parents.

"They were loaded down with fishing tackle and some were only young. The police very kindly picked them up and drove them there. We managed to get the match started only an hour late.'

Mrs Applegate said the youngsters, aged from seven to 17, had come from as far away as Cumbria and Liverpool.

"I would just like to thank the police for their help," she said.

The police helicopter, used to airlift an injured man to hospital in Preston, landed in a field owned by the Fisheries. A passenger in a car which was in collision with a van died in hospital.