DEMANDS have been made for more rangers in a Pendle park after the area next to a new £620,000 pavilion became a magnet for litterbugs.

Barnoldswick town councillor Jenny Purcell said the problems arose shortly after the new facilities were installed in Victory Park last year.

Following her requests, officers from Pendle Council have been out to clean the area, but there is a lack of park rangers, Mrs Purcell said.

Town hall chiefs said daily patrols were not always possible and urged local parents to encourage their children not to drop litter.

The new state-of-the-art facilities, which consist of six changing rooms with facilities for officials, were unveiled last November.

Councillors including David Whipp and Margaret Bell had campaigned for almost a decade to get the facilities in the park.

But less than a year on, the area is full of litter which detracts from the image of the area and the town as a whole, Mrs Purcell said.

She added: “Where are the park rangers? We were told when it was set up and running there would be rangers but I have not seen any.

“It’s absolutely disgusting. There are beer cans and takeaway wrappers all over.

“If I was a visitor, I would take my car and drive home.”

Colin Patten, Pendle parks and recreation services manager, said anti-social behaviour such as littering was a borough-wide problem.

He added: “We do try our best to keep all our parks nice – it is part of our routine to visit them every day to make sure they’re tidy and to remove litter.

“I’m afraid it’s not possible to patrol Victory Park on a daily basis as Pendle’s five park keepers have to cover 11 of Pendle’s parks, six sports areas, six of Pendle Council’s cemeteries and six other closed burial grounds.

“So if we are to stop this problem, we need people’s help in stopping their children from behaving anti-socially in our parks.”