THE former leader of Rossendale Council today fired a warning shot that the authority is in danger of a takeover by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

David Hancock, leader of the opposition Labour party, made the stark warning after Peter Steen resigned as leader of the authority.

He said bickering in the camps of the Tories could push control of the authority into the hands of a management team appointed by John Prescott.

And he warned that the knock-on effect would be disastrous for the council.

Coun Hancock said: "This is what we have been working so hard to avoid but in the current climate we face a real threat.

"It's very concerning as the councillors wouldn't then be the ones making the decisions. It would be the management company who would look at things on a purely financial basis, rather than any other issues that might need to be taken into consideration."

Rossendale MP Janet Anderson said: "This is indeed a sad day for Rossendale.

"We have a council that is desperately trying to redeem itself from its branding by the Audit Commission as the worst council in the country.

"We have a refuse collection that is in disarray, council workers who are facing redundancy and who have passed a vote of no confidence in the council leadership and now we do not even know who is at the helm.

"The people of Rossendale deserve better than this."

A spokesman for the ODPM said: "We are aware of the situation and we will be keeping the situation under close review as part of our regular engagement with the authority."