EDUCATION Secretary Charles Clarke has revealed a team of officials are working with Lancashire County Council and Burnley Borough Coucil in a bid to sort out the school places crisis in the town.

And the minister has not ruled out a return to Burnley to try and sort the problem out face to face with families and education chiefs.

Mr Clarke has already visited Towneley High School to discuss the allocation crisis during a recent visit to launch a new initiative aimed at helping the football club boost learning among young males. He was briefed by Lancashire's acting chief education officer Jack Bennett.

But today he said: "I have a team of officials working with the Local Education Authority and Burnley Borough Council to try and sort this out.

"I have been regularly briefed on this by Peter Pike. We are doing all we can to try and deal with this problem and I have told the Education Authority that if necessary they should ask Mr Pike to get in direct contact with me.

"These things are always difficult to resolve but I met a delegation from the town led by Mr Pike.

"My officials are doing everything they can to try and tackle the problem and although I have no plans to return to Burnley at the moment if necessary I will."

The school places crisis is a major issue in Burnley and has already led to the creation of the town's DIY School, which was set up in Rossendale Road when parents failed to get their children places at Ivy Bank, Habergham and Gawthorpe secondary schools in the west of the town.

Burnley Labour MP Mr Pike said: "I am very pleased that Charles Clarke is taking this so seriously. His officials are working very closely with the county and the borough council.

"Mr Bennett briefed him on the current situation and we are making progress.

"I am under no illusions, however, that whatever is done will be controversial and people will object to it.

"But I have made clear to everyone that when I stand down as MP at the next election I want there to be at least a 'road map' to solving this problem.

"I have been asking the county council to do something about this for 10 years but they have avoided it because it will be so controversial."