Council leaders whose borough was labelled the worst in the country' now want the government to look again.

They believe the "many improvements" made recently will be enough to shake off the Poor' rating awarded in 2004.

Rossendale leader Duncan Ruddick said: "The time has come for the council to shake off its bad image. We have been stuck with this poor' label for too long.

"I have no doubt that some of the Audit Commission's criticisms in the past have been justified, but the council has made a huge amount of progress since then.

"We now have a real and lasting commitment to customer care with more than twice as many people satisfied with the service they are getting and further improvements still in the pipleline.

"We have our Neighbourhood Environmental Action Teams, out in our communities, working with local people, and co-ordinating our daily battle against grime.

"And the extra resources for street cleaning are now showing real results.

"We have modernised our decision making, restored the council's finances and delivered value for money.

"The time has now come to throw off our shackles and show the rest of the world that Rossendale has a council that its people can be proud of."

Councillors at the latest Rossendale Executive Committee meeting agreed that the authority should spend the £30,000 needed to submit a report to inspectors in the hope that Rossendale will be included in the first wave of inspections.