AN unexpected £240,000 windfall has emerged for elderly people who want to retain their independence in Burnley and Padiham.

Finance chiefs have uncovered a near 30-year-old bequest from a Burnley philanthropist which has been gathering dust in a long-forgotten bank account.

Back in May 1970, the will of the late Nora Bradburn left £15,000 to the borough of Burnley to pay for two meal centres for old people.

Only one such centre was ever built due there being insufficient funds, leaving the remaining cash lying idle for 28 years, amassing interest, so that the bequest now stands at £118,000.

Now there are proposals to incorporate the legacy, and another donation totalling £120,000, into the Burnley Acorn Fund, formerly known as the town’s Sick Poor Fund.

Two smaller concerns, the Matthew Cocker Charity, and the William Arthur Ingham Charity, will see their funds worth £120,000 also transferred.

Democracy officer Saima Afzaal says in a report to councillors: “The bequest has remained dormant since the 1970s and now stands at £118,533.46 of charitable assets.

“The objectives of the fund are to provide services, facilities and benefits for the old people within the county borough still residing in their own homes.

“The funds are not being utilised for charitable purposes. A recent meeting with the trustees discussed the future of this charity and agreed to transfer the funds into Burnley Acorn Fund to make better use of the fund.”

The former Sick Poor Fund previously had assets of £154,000 but the addition of the two bequests has swelled that total to £394,500.

The charitable aims of the Acorn Fund have been adapted to not only relieve the sick and poor of Burnley borough but also aid elderly people living in their own homes, ‘by providing specially designed or adapted housing, and items services or facilities calculated to relieve the needs of such persons’.