YOUNGSTERS who have overcome the troubles in Northern Ireland have given Burnley's white and Asian children lessons in how to live together in peace.

Teenagers aged between 16 and 21 from areas including Londonderry and Belfast came to Burnley Town Hall to speak about how young people had worked to end the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics.

The move was organised in a bid to prevent a repeat of last summer's riots in the town after racism was partly blamed for the disturbances.

The meeting between the two sets of youngsters came just hours after Prime Minister Tony Blair used a visit to East Lancashire to launch an attack on the BNP and say it would bring increased tension to the area.

Around 30 youngsters of all backgrounds turned up to last night's town hall meeting, entitled, 'Don't Go Down The Belfast Road!'

MP Peter Pike, MEP Gary Titley and Leader of Burnley Council Stuart Caddy all spoke at the meeting.

Many people who live in the riot struck areas of Burnley also turned out to listen to what the youngsters from Ireland had to say about what could happen in Burnley if the disturbances broke out again.

Cathrine Brogan, 17, of Omagh, the town devastated by an IRA bomb, said young people had helped drive the move towards peace in Northern Ireland and had worked to break down divisions through their own friendships.

She urged everybody in Burnley to stick together and avoid the divide that she has grown up with.

She said: "If people only realised the long term effects that rioting has on a community it might make them think twice about doing it again.

"Northern Ireland has been in turmoil for about 30 years, Protestants don't speak to Catholics and vice versa. Catholics wouldn't dream of going to a nightclub where Protestants go, which is really sad and is not what we want our future generations to see.

"We need to get to the bottom of the problem now, starting with the schools and prevent any segregation which I feel may have started taking place in some schools here. Pupils of all races and backgrounds need to mix and learn to understand one another's views and opinions.

"A lot of the troubles start in areas of deprivation and where there is a cluster of two sections divided. In Ireland we have peace walls which have been put up to stop each religion from crossing over which is not what Burnley wants."

Mumaira Khan, 14, of Thorn Street, Duke Bar, Burnley, saw all the riots as she lives in the heart of where most of it took place.

She said: "It was a really scary time for my whole family, my mother wouldn't let me go out and I couldn't even go to school one day.

"My dad is a very calm man and couldn't see the sense in it all so he went across to the Duke of York pub where a lot of people were sheltering and took the first step towards peace when he took five men who were all very scared of being attacked to their homes.

"He taught me that violence was not needed and that we can all get on with one another without all this bloodshed.

"I don't want to live in another Belfast and I am sure the rest of Burnley doesn't."

Mr Pike said: "We have 13 BNP candidates in Burnley for Thursday's local elections and we need to ensure that they do not win any of the seats."

Lancashire County Council's Youth Apprentice Champion Coun Terry Burns organised the visit. He said: "The aim was to show the youth of Burnley the troubles that are caused by religious divides and how it puts an awful lot of stress on society.

"The children spoke bravely about how they got over their religious divides and what can be done to help the communities in Burnley, which hit home with everyone at the meeting."