A MAYOR'S attendant - hailed as an ambassador for his town - has had his wages slashed as part of a controversial pay review.

Graham Brunton has driven Blackburn and Darwen's first citizens around the UK for 18 years, as well as helping with paperwork, guarding their chains, writing speeches and co-ordinating charity fundraising.

The current mayor Coun Maureen McGarvey has said she doesn't know how she would do the job without him and that she is proud of his work representing the borough.

But Mr Brunton has now had his wages cut by £5,000 - one fifth - under the council's new "equal pay settlement" after being re-classified as a driver.

Mr Brunton, from Padiham, refused to comment on the situation although he confirmed he was one of the "losers".

But opposition Labour councillors have called for the system used to reassess staff wages to be re-considered and called some of the settlements "appalling."

Council leader Coun Colin Rigby said the council needed to find ways of dealing with anomalies brought up by the review.

More than 1,000 staff are braced for cuts to their wages as part of the review, and the council leader says they could be offered debt counselling to soften the blow.

It is thought the cut to Mr Brunton's wages will take his salary down to about £20,000 and has come after his job - the mayor's officer - was re-classified as a driver.

Tory Coun McGarvey said: "Graham knows my feelings but I can't possibly go public. I don't know what I would do without him.

"I have to be non-political, but if I was Graham I would be upset.

"He has so much experience, and his patience with me is unreal.

"When I go out with him I feel so proud, because people from other towns always know him at functions and come and ask his advice.

"He really is superb at his job - not just when he is out, he does a lot of office work too."

Labour councillor Dorothy Walsh, last year's mayor, said: "He doesn't finish once he has driven the mayor somewhere, he works very long hours."

And Coun Maureen Bateson, Labour mayor in 1995/96, added: "When he takes you to engagements you are carrying a chain around which is worth a lot of money.

"He works very antisocial hours. We went all the way to London together when Blackburn Rovers won the league."

Lib Dem leader Coun David Foster, mayor from 2003 to 2004, added: "It's difficult for me to comment, because I haven't been involved with the details, but certainly his hard work and professionalism are valued by me.

"I would hope we could find a way to resolve this."

The government has told every council in the country to set new pay grades for its staff in a bid to end years on inequality between men and women.

Each job has been "re-evaluated" and set on a new "pay line".

"After lengthy negotiations with unions, Blackburn with Darwen council agreed its new scale at a meeting before Christmas, ahead of most neighbouring authorities.

Under the settlement, 5,500 jobs have been evaluated by the council - 24 per cent of salaries will go down, 46 per cent are set to increase and the remaining 30 per cent will stay the same.

The changes will come into force in April 2009.

Until then, wages will be protected and staff will be encouraged to undergo training in a bid to work their way up the scale.

Opposition councillors say the benchmark against which salaries are worked out, has been set too low, and fear staff will leave in search of higher wages.

Labour members have called for the matter to be debated again, and a five-hour meeting was held in the town hall on Thursday night.

Labour leader Kate Hollern called the settlement "appalling".

Speaking after the meeting, council leader Colin Rigby admitted there had been some "anomalies" in the final settlement, which he promised to look into.

But the council is not thought to be planning any major changes.

Coun Rigby said: "Graham Brunton has been here for years and years and he is a good officer - but this system is throwing up all sorts of anomalies.

"We need to find ways of relieving these, but as yet I can't say what these are going to be.

"But there are winners as well, and I don't see them jumping up and down."