HYNDBURN MP Greg Pope has launched a campaign to save the borough's threatened community wardens.

He has written to the bosses of all the organisations involved in Hyndburn's Community Safety Partnership, which includes the borough and county councils, the police and the fire service, challenging them to come up with the funding to keep the service going.

He said: "The wardens are the eyes and ears of the council and we can't let this service just disappear.

"The job they do is inspiring and is well worth the cost to the tax payer.

"Since they were introduced three years ago they have had a significant impact on anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and vandalism in the town and are really popular with residents."

Mr Pope also plans to start a petition to save the wardens and he is planning to go out on patrol with them.

He added: "I want to stress that this is not a political point scoring exercise against Hyndburn council.

"We are talking about people's jobs and losing a valuable service which I and the residents of Accrington desperately want to keep going."

After it was revealed that the wardens' service was under threat Hyndburn Council held a crisis meeting with representatives from the Community Safety Partnership.

The authority has offered to put £50,000 into a fund and it was agreed that a letter would be sent to organisations involved in the partnership asking for help to find the remaining £110,000.

The issue of the wardens was also high on the agenda at last night's meeting of the full council.

Labour leader Jean Battle said the council's cabinet had reneged on an agreement to fund 50 per cent of the cost for 2005/2006.

She said: "The cabinet made a commitment to keep something that our residents benefit from. I don't think this ruling group takes its responsibility seriously."

Council leader Peter Britcliffe said: "What the council agreed to do was underwrite the cost on behalf of the Community Safety Partnership. What we are saying is that we will pay our share, but we have got partners and we would expect them to pay their share too."

The borough currently has 12 wardens, patrolling the four most deprived wards - Central, Barnfield, Springhill and Church.