THE leader of Lancashire County Council has defended plans for councils across the county to pool resources to pay for a free bus travel scheme.

Coun Hazel Harding said she was “surprised” by an outburst from her Labour counterparts on district councils claiming some boroughs was subsidising the rest of the county.

And she slammed claims by Hyndburn Labour leader Graham Jones and Blackburn with Darwen’s Kate Hollern that the decision was taken “in a secret meeting”.

Coun Harding, who chaired the meeting, said: “These are the very same meetings that the Labour members used to attend when they were in power”.

She said councils had to share the allocations they have received, with the scheme – which provides free bus travel to over 60s after 9.30pm – already facing a £2million black hole.

She added: “If we are going to ask the government for more money we need to show every penny has gone towards the scheme”.

Blackburn with Darwen Council insists no decision has been made on whether or not to pool their resources.