DON'T be surprised if, when driving through East Lancashire, you see a sticker in the rear window of a humble Skoda saying the owner's other car is an upmarket BMW.

For a survey says it could be true.

They are the two makes East Lancashire motorists are more likely to go for.

But this and our below-average ownership of mid-range models also suggests something else as well as driver preferences - the social gulf in East Lancashire.

It points to a wider gap between the haves and have-nots in our region and an under-sized middle class.

Politicians currently on the stump in our constituencies may have to explain how they would improve that situation.

For is it not a reflection of an economy that is not booming for everyone as much as some would have us believe?

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Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.