CHILDREN’S homes in Padiham and Colne are set to close as part of a shake-up of residential care across Lancashire.

Social services chiefs are looking to reduce the number of children in residential care from around 90 to 66 over the next two years.

And this will mean the phased closure of the Old Vicarage, in Whalley Road, Padiham and the Haverholt home, in Haverholt Close, Colne.

Each of the two homes usually accommodates six children, aged between 13 and 17, occasionally taking younger cases on occasion.

County councillor Susie Charles, children’s services cabinet member, said: “In Lancashire, we have twice as many teenagers in residential care homes as in other similar authorities.

“We want to reduce that number because we do not believe that this is always the best environment for a young person.”