MORE swingeing cuts passed down from Westminster will leave services near breaking point across East Lancashire, we have been warned.

Town-hall bosses, police chiefs and union bigwigs all claim that the £12 billion cuts to welfare and £20 billion reduction in spending on public services put forward by Chancellor George Osborne will have a devastating effect.

They warn street lights will have to be turned off, vital services will disappear and police support will be for 999 calls only.

It looks a tough road ahead. What must not happen is the most vulnerable in our communities being left helpless, alone in the dark corners of society without the support and help they so desperately need.

Old people who have worked all their life only to be cut adrift with the closing of vital services that give them company and comfort.

Young families struggling to make ends meet, living in poor-quality housing.

The priority must go to helping those most in need.

But with such big cuts on the way, questions must also be asked as to whether the axe has been swung too far.

We all know this is a time of austerity — but common sense must prevail.