UNEMPLOYED people in parts of East Lancashire could be facing extra 10 mile round-trips after the Department of Work and Pensions announced plans to merge two job centres with nearby sites.

An estates review by the DWP has revealed centres in Green Street, Darwen, and Market Street, Colne, could be axed.

Fourteen staff at Darwen would be relocated to Blackburn and it understood a similar number would move from Colne to Nelson's Netherfield Road office.

Bosses said only 60 per cent of the floor space was being used at Darwen and pledges have been made to cover travel costs for signing on. But the move has been criticised by councillors in the two towns and a campaign has begun to save the Colne branch.

Cllr Paul Browne, a Darwen town councillor, said: "It's a complete inconvenience. This centre is very important to the town and it's yet another thing people are going to have to fork out money to travel to.

"It could have a knock-on effect as well. People are going in there to get jobs and it's going to much more hassle to do that if it's not on their doorstep. We've lost two or three banks in the past 12 months and it's awful."

Colne borough councillor Dorothy Lord said: "This is very sad. There was already a number of things which you couldn't do at Colne because the services had gone online."

Expressing 'deep disappointment' at the decision, Cllr Joe Cooney, Conservative group leader on Pendle Council, said: "We believe the DWP has failed to consider the already wide catchment area Colne Job Centre serves and the difficulty many claimants will have getting to Nelson."

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said: "I have already spoken with local DWP staff to express my deep reservations about this proposal and I will be meeting the minister soon to raise these concerns directly with him.

"I will also work local councillors to see if an alternative solution can be found."

The review has confirmed centres in Blackburn, Accrington, Burnley, Chorley, Nelson and Rawtenstall will be retained. The Clitheroe office in Lowergate was recently relocated to Ribble Valley council offices and the Leyland office is also on the closure list.

Announcing the estates programme's findings, Employment Minister Damian Hinds, said: "The way the world works has changed rapidly in the last 20 years and the welfare state needs to keep pace.

"As more people access their benefits through the internet many of our buildings are under-used.

"We are concentrating our resources on what we know best helps people into work."

He claimed 2.7million more people were in work than 2010 and has detailed proposals of how 2,500 'life coaches' are being recruited.