BLACKBURN College has set its university tuition fees at £7,000 a year from September 2012 - the lowest in the North West.

Principal Ian Clinton has also revealed the details of a £750,000 fund to help students from deprived backgrounds.

45 scholarships, worth up to £6,000 over two years, will be on offer to gifted students.

£500,000 will be available for resources such as laptops, cameras and free transport passes.

Mr Clinton said these measures will help ‘put our students first and invest in their futures by offering affordable excellence’.

Universities have been forced to increase tuition fees after the government voted in favour of the hike when it announced funding would be cut for higher education.

The University of Central Lancashire, which is based in Preston and Burnley, has already announced its fees would go up to the top rate of £9,000 a year.

Mr Clinton said: “I honestly worry about how many students are going to be saddled with debts they are going to struggle to repay, once they have left university.

"We’ve taken appropriate steps to put our students first and invest in their futures by offering affordable excellence.

“As a commercially-savvy institution we have anticipated these tuition fee hikes and budget cuts for years now, and we have already invested heavily in new efficient buildings and can plough this money back into our students.

“I think there is a real danger we could lose gifted and talented people that could really do something for Blackburn and Pennine Lancashire if we increase fees to the higher levels.

“Some universities are playing a dangerous game hiking their fees to £9,000.

"Just because you can charge the maximum level of tuition fees doesn’t mean you should.

"It’s something I am very passionate about.”

Sir Bill Taylor, chair of the governors at Blackburn College, said: “We had to factor in being as fair as possible to our undergraduates from 2012 onwards and making sure they receive the best possible teaching under this new regime.”