BIG-HEARTED visitors to a group of local charity shops are being asked to help raise a lovely £1 million to mark Valentine's Day.

British Heart Foundation (BHF) shops in Blackpool, Cleveleys, Lytham and St Annes are joining the 'How Big is Your Heart?' fund-raising push.

For a suggested donation of £1, members of the public will be able to write a love note for the person they care about and post it in the window of their local BHF shop for all to see.

Those who prefer to keep their amorous intentions secret can receive a specially designed Valentine's sticker with the logo 'I've got a big heart.'

And there will also be a competition for local shops to create the longest 'Love Notes' chain message.

Trudy Warburton, Lancashire area manager for BHF Shops, said: "Why not declare your love this Valentine's through a "Love Note", and help us raise £1 million to fight heart disease, the UK's single biggest killer?"

"Love Notes" are part of a wider BHF campaign, "The Real Valentine" which aims to encourage people to show how much they really care this Valentine's by raising money to help mend real broken hearts.

For more information or to order a free fund-raising pack, call 0800 358 5800 or see

bhf.org.uk/realvalentine.

Money raised will go to help the BHF's work in fighting against heart and circulatory disease and helping to fund research into the condition, as well as funding education for the public and health professionals, as well as providing life-saving cardiac equipment and support for rehabilitation and patient care.