A COUPLE who bought a house in Burnley Wood claim they found out just two months after moving in that it was due to be bulldozed.

For Tony Bottomley, 42, and his fiancee Lindsay Taylor, 32, buying a £34,000 terraced property, in Oxford Road, was their first step on to the property ladder.

The pair, who plan to get married in September, said there was no suggestion from the survey and search they had done before they bought their new home that it was due for demolition.

But in December, two months after moving in, they were told by the council that their home was to come down under the Elevate programme to regenerate some of the town's most deprived areas.

His firm of solicitors, which didn't want to be identified, today confirmed that when it carried out the local search in August the house was identified as being in a regeneration area but not as one that was due for demolition.

A spokeswoman said: "If it had shown up as being due for demolition we would have told them not to buy it."

Tony, who works as a welder, said his home is structurally sound and the properties in the block are largely occupied but it had still been earmarked for clearance. He planned to fight to save his house.

He said: "We had a survey and search done but it didn't show demolition, so we went ahead. Then in December we got a letter saying our house was on the plan to be knocked down.

"Since then no-one has been round to see us to let us know what has been going on - they are playing with mine and Lindsay's future.

"My house is immaculate, there is nothing wrong with it. I just don't know where we are going to find another house in that sort of condition at the price we paid for it.

"We have not yet been told what the compensation package will be, but with prices going up in the area we may have to apply for a much bigger mortgage.

"I am a working class man, I only earn a couple of hundred quid a week. I will be living on jam butties if I have to take out a bigger mortgage."

Two options have been drawn up for each of the three areas included in the first wave of Elevate funding - Burnley Wood, Daneshouse, Duke Bar and Stoneyholme and South West Burnley - but Tony's home is up for demolition in both options for his area.

The decision on the options will be taken by the council's executive committee tonight.

Mike Wellock, the council's project co-ordinator for Elevate, said: "The decision hasn't been made yet. The executive committee could amend the proposals by taking out particular blocks. We will be drawing members' attention to people's concerns, the condition of properties and the occupancy levels.

"Sometimes for the better future planning of the area we may have to take down blocks that are in better condition than others and are not empty."

Mr Wellock added: "When people have had local searches done we have warned them that their property is in one of the three regeneration areas and have recommended that they look at the Neighbourhood Action Plans because we understand that this has a substantial impact on property transactions.

"Some solicitors have acted on that information, but others may not have done."