THE bald statistics of East Lancashire's housing crisis are shocking enough in themselves -- one in five homes unfit to live in and 3,500 abandoned in Burnley alone.

But a graphic snapshot of what this situation can mean in human terms was given to the House of Commons by Burnley MP Peter Pike in a special debate on empty homes. He told of a family whose life in their 'little palace' terrace house had become terrifying -- as they were surrounded by abandoned houses that were the target for fire-bug vandals.

It is a plight that no-one should have to endure in 2002, Mr Pike said. And he is right -- the vast housing problem in East Lancashire has been allowed to prevail for too long. And his record of having asked 300 parliamentary questions on the region's housing in his 19 years as an MP is a measure of that.

Now, however, we see some hope, with the promise of £670million government cash over 10 years to revitalise run-down housing areas and take immediate action in the worst blackspots.

And even more encouragingly Cabinet minister Stephen Byers has confirmed that the area covered by the special 'Pathfinder' housing renovation project will be widened to include Rossendale as well as Blackburn, Burnley, Hyndburn and Pendle.

The project has been kick-started with the government's announcement of £2.66million for action on decaying homes in the region. But the scale of the problem and the human hardship it entails demands that this commitment is kept up and that the East Lancashire partnership bid for all those hundreds of millions over the decade is fully met.

This is latest money is only a first instalment and many more will be needed before any real impact is made on East Lancashire's housing problem. As Blackburn's MP, Jack Straw, says, it needs a major programme of investment and renewal -- with the worst housing being got rid of and the homes that can be improved targeted for renovation on a continuous programme backed by the fullest finding.