TOWN centres across East Lancashire were packed with fans watching England's game against USA last night.

Fans of all ages packed out Colne’s Municipal Hall for a fundraiser to launch the Tom Petty Sports Foundation.

Tom lost his life in a road crash in Colne last year which also saw his girlfriend Jessica Foxley and their friend Philip Wright killed.

Tom’s family launched the foundation by inviting people to watch England’s first game in the World Cup against the USA, on the big screen at The Muni in Albert Road, Colne.

Several bars in Burnley tried to generate a party atmosphere for the post-game crowds with the Black Jacks playing The Bier Huis, Jam Restart at the Press Room and The Mockingbirds at the Old Red Lion.

But many were left angry when ITV1's HD tranmission mistakenly went to an advert as Steven Gerrard put England ahead.

At Blackburn’s Havelock Inn in Ewood, where an outdoor big screen had been laid on, the incident didn't deter from a busy night.

Darren Heggie, The Havelock’s owner, said: “It has been a very good night and we could have had five times the number of people in here but we were only allowed to let in 350 by the police.”

Fans were less forgiving when it came to Robert Green’s 40th minute blunder, which handed Clint Dempsey and the Americans an equaliser.

Peter McCarthy, 26, from Darwen, said: “I thought Robert Green was the wrong choice as goalkeeper.

"It should have been Joe Hart. Once the USA scored England’s performance became negative and this reflected throughout the rest of the game.“ St John’s Ambulance volunteer Rachel Andrew, from Burnley, added: “The American goal was a bit flukey. We’ll still do it.”

Once the final whistled sounded, supporters reflected on what might have been.

John Millar, 43, from Padiham, added: “It’s not over by a long way yet. But I bet we won’t be seeing Green again on Friday.”

Ayyub Patel, 26, from Blackburn, added: “We were all over them until the keeper dropped the ball and let that goal in.

"This affected the rest of the game and the players’ confidence.

"I just hope that they will improve in the next match.”