Lancashire

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  1. Striker Ashley Fletcher in action for struggling Blackpool this season

  2. A Met Office weather map shows a yellow band across the north-west of England and into North Wales.

  3. Aerial view of the fireworks display on the beach beside Blackpool's North pier with crowds of people watching on the promenade in the evening with the Blackpool Illuminations on and Blackpool Tower lit up purple in the background to the right.

  4. 'Preston stood out from start' for Armstrong

    On-loan Everton midfielder Harrison Armstrong says "Preston stood out straight away" when deciding the next step in his career.

    The 18-year-old, who played 15 Championship games on loan at Derby County last season, made the temporary switch to Deepdale on deadline day.

    "I was fortunate enough to go away with them [Everton] in pre-season and had quite a few good minutes," Armstrong told BBC Radio Lancashire.

    "I thought I had done well in the games I was involved in, but towards the end of the window it made more sense for me to get more game time and go and express myself on a consistent basis, week in week out.

    "It was a matter of timing and not trying to force anything, and hopefully we have taken the right approach.

    "There were clubs sniffing about earlier in the window - but pretty much from when I spoke to Preston and the manager, they stood out to me straight away, with what they are trying to achieve here, and it aligns with what I'm trying to achieve."

    Everton boss David Moyes also has extensive ties with Preston, having made more than 170 appearances for the club as a player before beginning his managerial career at Deepdale in 1998.

    "He [David Moyes] told me how good a club it is," England Under-19 international Armstrong added. "He told me how good the people are, and that I would enjoy myself, which is all you can ask really.

    "It is about having good people around you - I'm still young and I'm going to make mistakes, but it is having those people to correct you and send you in the right direction.

    "Fortunately that is what I have got - I have got really good people around me and people that have come into my life and kept me grounded."

    Listen to more from Armstrong plus other Preston content on BBC Sounds.

    BBC Sounds

  5. Championship 'as tough as I've ever known it'

    This season's Championship is 'as tough as I've ever known it' - Heckingbottom

    Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom said his players and the fans have been "fantastic" in what he called the toughest Championship season he has experienced.

    Preston have had a positive start, having only lost once - 1-0 to Portsmouth - in their five league games so far as they prepare for Saturday's trip to Derby County.

    They have also lost experienced player Robbie Brady to a calf injury, which will see him sidelined for a number of months.

    "If we want to have a chance, we have got to do it our way," Heckingbottom told BBC Radio Lancashire.

    "We are playing another team at the weekend that have spent millions of pounds. So, if everyone is right with what they put on social media, then we should lose. We either accept that and roll over or do things our way, and for us to do that we need everyone on the same page.

    "The fact that we have had good performances up to this point, people are understanding that it is not about the money, it is about what we do and the fans have been fantastic, the players have been fantastic and we need to make sure we stick together and continue it through the season."

    Preston, targeting a first away league win of the season, face a Derby side who picked up their first three points and clean sheet last Saturday in a 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion.

    "This league is funny this season, it is as tough as I've ever known it," Heckingbottom said. "I mean every game looks as if it is going to very competitive.

    "Every game is going to be decided by the finest of margins, and as it stands I can't see that really changing.

    "It will be a tough game [against Derby] regardless, they showed that last weekend. Also, when they played Ipswich and Bristol City, they are more than comfortable to hang in games and grab a result - that straightaway tells me this is going to be a tough game.

    "They have recruited and really changed the squad by putting some firepower in at the top end of the pitch.

    "We have to make sure we bring our best and cause as many problems as possible, whilst dealing with them and their threat."

    Listen to the full pre-match interview with Heckingbottom and more Preston North End content on BBC Sounds

    BBC Sounds

  6. Head and shoulders image of Andrew Tate standing outside a stone building. He is facing to the right, has a bald head and black short beard and is wearing sunglasses a black t-shirt and cream jacket

  7. A picture of a smiling Brian Roberts. He is a larger man with a balding head and is wearing a black striped polo shirt. He is standing in front of a former restaurant in Blackpool town centre.

  8. Kerri Cunningham is smiling at the camera in her office. She is standing in front of a cream wall where five of her sketches are hanging in black photo frames. One reads: 'All flowers bloom in their own time' while another reads: 'The world is so much brighter because you exist'.

  9. Lancashire County Council building

  10. Police officer in yellow hi-vis jacket taken from the back with a police car in the background.

  11. Right-hander Josh Bohannon, wearing his Lancashire helmet, cuts a shot

  12. Robbie Brady.

  13. Parker on injuries, staying positive and 'huge competitor' Postecoglou

    Nat Hayward
    BBC Sport journalist

    Burnley boss Scott Parker has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest at Turf Moor (15:00 BST).

    Here are the key lines from his news conference:

    • Parker said he has no fresh injury concerns heading into the game and "a couple of players are edging closer to coming back". Decisions will be made after training on Friday about their involvement.

    • Lesley Ugochuckwu will be suspended after his red card against Liverpool: "We've got a squad here that we need. It gives someone else an opportunity to come and fill that position. We're going to need the squad for all different scenarios and this weekend someone will take Lesley's place."

    • Parker has been pleased with the development of his side so far since promotion: "We've been presented with some tough, tough fixtures. I've seen a massive improvement from the first game of the season at Spurs where we looked a little bit dazed at times. Every nugget where there has been positivity around the group we need to emphasise and hold onto."

    • On the mood in the squad after late defeats by Manchester United and Liverpool: "Positive. It's been a bit of a sucker punch for us over the last couple of weeks. We've put in two really good performances against very strong opposition and not managed to get a result in the dying minutes of games. We're hugely disappointed with how things could be different for us but overall in this early stage, there are a lot of positives to take from these games."

    • On preparing differently to facing Forest under Ange Postecoglou after Nuno Espirito Santo's sacking: "Ange has been hugely successful at previous clubs and did that again last year. We're up against a huge competitor and someone who has been around it a long time. We're planning for a totally different set-up and outlook on the game."

    • More on Forest: "A different coach brings different ideas, a different philosophy. Ange will be no different in wanting to change certain things. They have a strong squad with strong individuals. New manager or not, we will have to prep like we have done and be the team we can be. If we do, we can cause Forest problems."

    Listen to full commentary from Turf Moor on Saturday on BBC Radio Lancashire 95.5FM with Gary Hunt & David Unsworth.

    Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

  14. Generic image of a huge pile of plastic and rubbish being scooped up by a machine that looks like a tractor

  15. Phil Salt celebrates a century but raising his bat, with fireworks in the background

  16. Abingdon Street post office, a large square sandstone building with eight red phone boxes to the front.

  17. Josh Tongue takes a wicket for Notts

  18. Neil Hunter crawls to the finish line in Nice

  19. Justine Bedford with long dark hair wearing a Burnley FC shirt sitting on leather Claret chairs with the club logo on in her pub with a wooden sign above her which reads: The Directors Box. She is smiling.

  20. A close-up photograph of a pile of black, tan and white egg cases lying on a firm sandy beach.

  21. Left-hander Luke Wells plays a shot off his hips in Lancashire's innings against Middlesex

  22. A CGI aerial view of a site in the centre of Blackpool of how it will look after a planned £300m redevelopment. It is set in the evening and shows bright lights with Central Pier and its big wheel and the sea in the background.

  23. Passengers getting on a train at Brierfield railway station on single track Colne line with Northlight mill development on the left.

  24. A man in a pink t-shirt and denim shorts holds a wheelchair. A young girl with brown hair in a pony tail wearing glasses, a white cardigan and red dress is using the specially adapted chair for use on a beach. They are enjoying the waves on Fleetwood beach.