MUSLIM leaders have reacted furiously after a senior councillor called for a 'line to be drawn' under plans for a mosque in Clitheroe if the latest application fails.

Council leader John Hill told a full council meeting that Ribble Valley Council should stop looking for a mosque site if the current application for Kirkmoor Road is rejected.

His comments, that the search for a mosque site had become a 'drain of resources' and was only important to a small section of the community, have angered Sheraz Arshad, of the Medina Islamic Education Centre, Holden Street.

It is his proposal to purchase part of a former council depot that will go before councillors at the next meeting of the policy and finance committee on November 16. A decision was deferred during last month's meeting for councillors to order a report into the social impact of a mosque on nearby residents. Any decision on the sale of land is dependant on any possible planning matters being resolved. The move came after a series of applications to turn the Holden Street centre into a mosque.

Mr Arshad said today: "I am absolutely furious that the leader of the council has said this.

"I want to know what he is drawing a line under exactly? This statement gives the impression that the council has done all it can to help us find a site. This is not the case, we have done all the running."

Coun Hill had said: "I will propose to draw a line under this and move forward if this application fails. The mosque is important to a small section of the community, but we have to look at the community at large.

"If we can't come up with an alternative site then enough is enough. The constant search for a suitable site is a drain on resources and a controversial matter.