THE number of formal complaints against councils in Lancashire rose sharply last year.

But only one of those lodged was upheld by the the Local Government Ombudsman.

The independent watchdog today published an annual report which showed the number of grievances against town halls across the country had increased.

And Patricia Thomas, the Ombudsman for the North, revealed detailed statistics of the number of complaints against each council.

Lancashire County Council had 76 complaints compared to 40 the previous year. Blackburn with Darwen had 20 complaints while there were just nine the year before.

The number of complaints against Burnley fell from 24 to 20 and the number of complaints against Hyndburn increased by eight to 14.

Pendle Council had 19 official complaints and the Ribble Valley had 16 complaints compared to 22 the year before.

Despite the large number of complaints the only case of maladministration in Lancashire which was upheld was against Rossendale Council out of a total of 19.

The total number of complaints nationwide was 17,555, more than any other year and around a quarter were upheld.

Mr Thomas said: "Once again I have noted a significant increase in education admission appeals.

"These increases put a very real pressure on staff. On the one hand, I am concerned that the pressure to reach decisions should not lead to any reduction in the thoroughness of investigations and the quality of decision.

"On the other hand every complainant had a perfectly reasonable expectation that the decision on their complaint shall not be long delayed."