ALLOTMENT owners in Nelson have been told their patches could be replaced by burial plots as Pendle Council plans to increase the capacity of the cemetery.

But today they promised they would not surrender without a fight.

The cemetery, off Walton Lane, is 4.22 hectares in size and is in urgent need of expansion.

And one of the options being considered is moving into the neighbouring three- and-a-half-acre allot- ment site.

But Marie Skelton, 25, from Foulridge, who took on an allotment at the site last year, said petitions had already been organised opposing any move to encroach on the allotment.

"We've currently been told that the cemetery right next to us needs more land and they said they could have us out in a year because it is a temporary site even though the allotments have been there for over 90 years.

"We're trying to think up a strategy to make it as hard as possible for them."

The cemetery allotments started in 1912 but have been slowly eroded over the years as the cemetery expanded.

There are 30 members sharing 26 patches. The youngest is just 14 years old and the oldest is 82.

Moira Smith, 73, who has had an allotment at Nelson with her 77-year-old husband Frank for 27 years, is treasurer of Nelson Cemetery Allotments. She said: "It's not an old person's hobby any more, we have young families.

"And 19 members live within walking distance, a lot of them don't have a garden of their own.

"We want to keep that little piece of land. It's an environmentally friendly area and it's a facility that is used by the community."

A council spokesman said no decision had been taken. "There are issues of capacity at Nelson cemetery and it is the subject of ongoing work by officers who are looking at a number of different options."

Councillors are set to meet next month to discuss proposals for the extension.