A COUNCIL today admitted it does not have enough cash to repair cemetery footpaths -- two years after giving a written assurance the work would be done.

A 42-year-old man has been campaigning for three years to get Blackburn Cemetery, which contains dozens of war graves, cleaned up.

But Peter Hunt, Blackburn with Darwen Council's director responsible for maintaining public parks, said the £30,000 repairs were not a priority because of budget restrictions.

Now the Whalley New Road resident, who declined to be named, is considering launching proceedings for compensation after falling and hurting himself for the fourth time.

The council has received two complaints about the cemetery, in autumn 2001 and 2002, both from the same resident.

The campaigner said paths are inaccessible because of weeds, and hazardous because of pot holes.

In 2002, Mr Hunt wrote an apology and gave an assurance that surfacing work, weed killing, road sweeping, and gravestone assessments, would all be carried out.

Speaking after a fall on Tuesday, the resident said: "I am sick of falling as I walk my dog around the cemetery. It's ridiculous. I repeatedly complain and they repeatedly don't do anything. But I am not giving up."

Mr Hunt said: "To repair the little-used pathways would cost upwards of £30,000 which would only cover the main pathways of the small section.

"To repair all pathways would be considerably more. The council must prioritise its budgets and workloads and, unfortunately, pathways used by so few people are not at the top of the priority list."