A BOLTON woman who was friendly with the Beatles in their early days has finally got to see one of them play on stage.

Terri Turner, from Lostock, spent hours backstage when the Beatles played Leigh Casino in the early 1960s, but was never actually in the audience.

So when Paul McCartney announced his current UK tour she snapped up tickets for his concert at Sheffield Arena, intending to hand him a copy of a photograph she had of herself with Paul and John Lennon in the 1960s. But the show was cancelled at the last minute when Paul lost his voice.

Terri was devastated -- but then managed to get hold of tickets for his concert in Birmingham.

She spotted her hero as he arrived at the concert and handed the coveted picture to McCartney's agent, who agreed to pass it on.

Now Terri is hoping to get an e-mail reply from the superstar.

Terri, now aged 59, got to know the Beatles after meeting Ringo Starr while on holiday at Butlins, where he was drummer with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.

But she had never seen any of the Beatles perform until now. "I was always in the dressing room, " said Terri.

She said Paul's Birmingham show was "fantastic".

"He didn't have a break in over two and a half hours. He was much better than I remember the Beatles," she said.