FRESH efforts are set to be made to clean up the Leeds and Liverpool Canal running through Pendle in 2008.

Talks have taken place between British Waterways and borough councillors, following concerns about the amount of litter affecting the waterway and general untidiness.

Now councillors and waterway officials have agreed to a four-point plan to regenerate the historic canal - and boost tourism into the bargain.

Area committees across Pendle are being encouraged to arrange annual litter-picks, on the stretches of canal towpath running through their district.

And the council operation services team are set to crack down on anyone found depositing litterway on or in the canal in future.

New ideas about how the waterway can be used to bring more visitors to Pendle have also been proposed.

Councillor Frank Wren, who along with couns Pauline McCormick and Naseem Shabnam met with British Waterways officials in September, said they would continue to put pressure on the government to get the canals cleared up.

Coun Wren said: "In reality the water authorities have no money to do anything to the canals.

"This is a tragic and, as far as I am concerned, the government has not been looking after the situation.

"The canals are the main artery right the way through Lancashire and there should be money available to look after one of our most important tourist attractions.

"We cannot afford to maintain them and they have to be the responsibility of the body getting the money from the goverment-we will keep putting pressure on them to get the canals cleaned."

At the meeting Mike Marshall, from British Waterways, explained that funding cutbacks from the Government had restricted the amount of time their own litter boat could operate.

But it was hoped that an internal efficiency programme, conducted by the agency, would minimise the effects of those reductions on maintenance work.

Members of the Brierfield and Reedley Committee had also made complaints about specific problems with litter, in that area, overhanging trees and rotting breach boards Mr Marshall said that procedures should now be in place to tackle the litter problem - and breach boards were now no longer stored by the canal to prevent rotting problems.

It was also agreed that the provision of extra dog bins should be investigated along the canal's banks.

Councillors had also expressed concerns about the locking of an access gate to a car park at Barrowford Locks.

Mr Marshall said the gate had been locked as the path leading up to it had been deemed unsafe for vehicles to use.

The council and waterways authority has agreed to examine access issues, and promote the locks as a tourism destination in the future.