DEVASTATED friends gathered to remember pensioner Ellen Crank on Friday night, a week after she was brutally stabbed to death in her own home.

They met for their usual game of bingo at the Victory Community Centre as they had done with their tragic pal just seven days ago.

But although they were determined that life should go on, they stopped for a quiet moment of reflection in memory of their friend.

Just a week earlier, surrounded by close friends, Ellen had celebrated her birthday at the centre in Chorley Old Road.

The popular pensioner had brought her own home-made cakes and sandwiches to the party to mark her 76th birthday which had been the day before.

Hours later she was dead. She had been stabbed to death in the kitchen of her home in nearby Kingscourt Avenue shortly after she had returned home with the leftovers.

Determined to try to carry on as normal, her friends gathered at 6pm on Friday to remember the happy occasion and the last time they saw their her alive.

The group sought solace in each other's company. Some had decided not to venture out on the dark and damp night which was in stark contrast to the warm February evening last Friday. They shared tales about the pensioner and comforted each other as they struggled to come to terms with the tragedy.

Many of her friends were still too upset to talk about what happened.

But one woman said: "I hope the police find the person who has done this. They should bring them here to the community centre and we will deal with them.

"Ellen was a lovely woman, very popular. She wouldn't hurt anyone."

Another said: "Everyone is very upset. I have known Ellen for years. We had such a lovely time at the party."

Another friend said: "I haven't been able to sleep since. I feel scared. I can't believe something like this could have happened."

The murder has shocked the close knit community, many of whom had known Mrs Crank for a number of years.

Floral tributes have been placed outside her home, which was the scene of a vicious and sustained attack.

They carry moving tributes to Mrs Crank who was known for always making time to stop and chat with neighbours as she went about her daily business.

Police officers tried to retrace her final steps on two possible routes home that Mrs Crank could have taken, hoping to jog people's memories in a bid for clues to help catch the killer.

They put up posters in the shop windows along Chorley Old Road and handed out leaflets to passers-by in a bid to find anyone who saw her in the final minutes of her life.

Detectives are still unsure about which way the pensioner, who was carrying a Morrisons carrier bag at the time, walked home.

The mother-of-one may have taken a route along Chorley Old Road before turning down Ivy Road and then into Kingscourt Avenue.

Alteratively, she could have walked along a side street to Oxford Grove, into Hatfield Road, through the fields to Valletts Lane, left into Sunnybank Road, across Keighley Street and then into Kingscourt Avenue.

The last sighting was by a neighbour who saw her arrive home at around 9pm.

Her long-time friend Joyce Smith discovered her body on Sunday at 1.45pm.

Det Con Derek Houston said: "We are appealing for anyone who saw Mrs Crank last Friday or saw anything suspicious to come forward.

"The posters and leaflets were distributed to try to jog people's memories. We were talking to people in the area to see if any of them were out walking last Friday night.

"We are still trying to establish which way Mrs Crank walked home after the party."

Anyone with information about the murder should call the incident room on 0161 856 5153 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.