Five men have been cleared of sexually abusing an underage girl.

The men, some of whom are current or former Accrington market hall traders, were standing trial at Burnley Crown Court accused of committing sexual offences against the same victim dating back to the 1990s.

They have now been cleared of all the charges against them.

The prosecution withdrew their case against Amar Amin and Nadeem Arif and Judge Beverley Lunt instructed the jury to also return not guilty verdicts against Javid Raza, Abbas Khan and Ijaz Khan.

Mr Raza, 59, of Crosshill Road, Blackburn, was found not guilty of six counts of indecent assault.

Mr Abbas Khan, 59, of Hubie Street, Burnley, was found not guilty of six counts of rape and 10 counts of indecent assault.

Mr Ijaz Khan, 47, of Casterton Avenue, Burnley, was found not guilty of one count of rape and eight counts of indecent assault.

Mr Amin, 36, of an address in Manchester, and Mr Arif, 38, of St James Court, Blackburn, were both found not guilty of one count of rape.

The case against the remaining defendant Mohamed Rafique was due to resume at the court on Monday, April 24.

Mr Rafique, 39, of Moss Avenue, Rochdale, denies one count of rape and one of indecent assault.