EAST Lancashire was today given an economic 'wake-up call' after a report revealed it had fallen way behind the rest of the country.

The East Lancashire Partnership said the region's economy has been failing for at least 10 years, which has led to major regeneration problems.

The Partnership, set up to bring councils and businesses closer together, said East Lancashire had an overdependence on vulnerable, traditional manufacturing jobs, too many low-wage and low-skill jobs, a lack of investment and business start-ups.

This has, the Partnership added, led to a drop in housing standards, wages and skills levels. It has also led to the region getting less regeneration grants than other parts of the North West.

In order to reverse the decline, a new alliance of business and council leaders has been formed. The East Lancashire Strategic Regeneration Group will attempt to tackle the problems and provide an overall strategy to get the economy back on track.

Dennis Taylor, head of the East Lancashire Partnership, said: "This is a wake up call for East Lancashire. We need to get a strategic overview for the whole of the region."

A report published by Lancashire County Council this year outlined the problems. The report said that between 1994 and 2002 the number of businesses in East Lancashire fell by over five percent, while nationally the number had risen by almost three per cent.

And 15 wards in East Lancashire were placed in the 10 per cent most deprived areas of Britain. In five areas over three quarters of children lived in poverty and in 19 wards over half live below the bread line.

Manufacturing accounts for 20 per cent of East Lancashire's jobs, compared with 14.2 per cent nationally.

In 19 areas of East Lancashire over half the workforce is employed in low-skilled jobs and 22 per cent of private companies said skills levels fell below the required levels.

Max Steinberg, the man in charge of East Lancashire's bid for a share of a £500 million regeneration pot, Sir Bill Taylor, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, a representative from Lancashire County Council and members of other district councils will sit on a board of nine people.

Stephen Barnes, chief executive of Pendle Borough will represent East Lancashire's district councils.

Blackburn with Darwen Council leader Sir Bill Taylor said: "For a long time East Lancashire has lagged behind the North West and the rest of the country.

"There have been some significant improvements but we need to make step changes to ensure that the next generation of young people have the standard of living they deserve."

Blackburn MP and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said setting up the East Lancashire Strategic Regeneration Group was "the right thing to do."

But he said that the success of Blackburn in getting government grants could be the way ahead for the region.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans said the move was long overdue. He added: "The Government humps huge amounts of money into Manchester and Liverpool and manufacturing is in melt-down. We are losing too many jobs."