A COUNTY councillor has been prevented from making a grant to a community group in her ward because she is a trustee of the organisation.

Jackie Oakes, for Rossendale East, had recieved an application for funding from Stacksteads Countryside Park Group, which was asking her for help to fund improvements at Western Park.

But a statement from Lancashire County Council said: “This contribution will go towards improved drainage on the sports pitch.

“The non-pecuniary interest is that Coun Oakes is the trustee of this group.”

But the intervention does not mean the plea for aid is completely lost.

The statement adds: “The application has therefore been reassigned to the deputy leader for decision.”