BLACKBURN Rovers' bold decision to slash ticket prices is starting to pay handsome dividends after the club revealed season ticket sales have surpassed last season's total.

After the club announced groundbreaking price reductions of up to 25 per cent in March, fans have been snapping up season tickets in their thousands ahead of the forthcoming 2007/08 campaign.

And with just over six weeks to go before the new Barclays Premier League season gets under way on August 11, club officials are confident that figure will rise even further as a number of existing season ticket holders have still to renew their seats.

Managing Director Tom Finn said: "We are delighted that with almost two months until the start of the new season we have surpassed the number of season tickets sold last season.

"The figures are highly encouraging as there are still many fans who have yet to renew their season tickets and we would urge them to act quickly to secure the best seats available.

"The club has been at the forefront of the campaign to make Premiership football more affordable for all and it is clear that the Rovers supporting public have responded." Rovers have not released the exact number of tickets sold, but it must exceed last season's figure of 10,500, which is a great response so far, not least because a healthy proportion have bought one for the first time.

A recent survey showed the average price of a season ticket at Rovers is second cheapest in the Premiership, and only Wigan Athletic, who have the cheapest tickets in the league, have announced bigger price cuts this summer.