Accrington Stanley are inspiring a new generation of fans after touring Hyndburn schools with their champions trophy.

Community Trust staff have taken the League Two trophy to 20 schools across Accrington, Oswaldtwistle, Church, Great Harwood and Rishton.

Many young Reds dressed up in free Stanley shirts and had their picture taken with the cup and mascot Winstanley.

Lee Walsh, head of sport at Accrington Stanley Community Trust, said is was ‘really well received’.

St Nicholas CE primary school in Church.

He said: “You can see from the pictures that the children were all excited and some of the staff were even more so.

“The idea was that we get the trophy out to as many schools as possible to get the message out about what the club have achieved this year, to raise the profile of the club and engage new fans.

“Earlier in the year every year three child got a free Stanley shirt so it was nice to do something to follow that up.

"We encouraged the schools to let them bring in their Stanley shirts to wear on the pictures. We also brought the mascot Winstanley down.

“Andy Holt was keen to do it for the community to create a bit of buzz around the place.”