THE trust which runs public leisure facilities in Hyndburn has run up debts of more than £300,000.

But Hyndburn Council has stumped up a loan of over £200,000 using taxpayers' cash following fears that the financial problems could force the closure of some facilities.

The Leisure in Hyndburn Charitable Trust was set up in 2001 by the council as an "arm's length" organisation to run all the authority's leisure centres, which attract more than 800,000 users each year.

The trust is responsible for operating Hyndburn Sports Centre in Church, Mercer Hall leisure centre, Great Harwood, Wilson playing fields in Clayton-le-Moors, Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre and part of Accrington Town Hall.

In the last four years more than £1.2million has been invested in the facilities by the trust, which is managed by a chief executive and a board of directors.

Hyndburn Council has a complex financing agreement with the trust which sees the authority pay £130,000 each month for payroll costs.

Council bosses confirmed this was repaid a month in arrears but that the payroll debt had now risen to more than £314,000.

Council leader Peter Britcliffe said the council could not have donated the cash three years ago as the council was £1.8million in debt.

But now the council has approved support of £84,000 as well as an additional loan of £130,000 to help the trust.

He said: "Things are different now.

"There have been problems with the financial situation of the trust and as a council we have been working hard to overcome them.

"We have been able to put together a financial package in place to guarantee the future of the leisure services in Hyndburn.

"We are now looking to put the problems that we have experienced behind us.

"The leisure facilities are very popular and much needed.

"We as a council will always support them as much as we can. "

Chairman of leisure in Hyndburn board of trustees, Shabir Siddiq, said the future of the trust was now "very bright".

He added: "We have had some problems with cash flow because of delays with grants but hopefully that is behind us now.

"We can now begin to get over the financial issues and start looking at developing top quality services for the community."

Hyndburn's opposition labour leader Coun Graham Jones said if the council had not stepped in then facilities would have had to be closed.

He said: "Council tax payers have been misled over the handling of this situation.

"We have always been told that the council would not use public money to underwrite the trust."

Detailed arrangements for repaying the loan have yet to be drawn up.

The problems have meant that proposals to move the running of the Haworth Art Gallery in Accrington into the hands of the trust have been delayed indefinitely.