A CIVIC society today demanded action over a £150,000 fountain which never works.

Chairman of Accrington Civic Trust, Alan Benson, urged Hyndburn Council to seek compensation from the company which erected the structure outside the authority's Scaitcliffe House HQ.

He said the 25 metre by three metre fountain has only worked briefly twice since it was built using European grant money in 1999.

But Nigel Rix, director of Hyndburn First, the council's development arm, said it would be wrong to blame the contractors because perhaps the blame lay with the council for not maintaining it properly.

Mr Benson said the fountain should be replaced with a historic piece, such as part of the Ashton Frost steam engine, symbolising the town's industrial past.

The rusting engine was once used in textile production at the India and Primrose Mills at Church, and William Blythe's chemical company donated it to Hyndburn Council 20 years ago in the hope it could be restored.

Mr Benson said: "The thing defies all logic, it is absolutely unbelievable that such a thing could be constructed that does not work. It has never worked properly. Even when it was switched on, it only managed to raise the water by six inches before it broke down after a week.

"What we need is something that is vandal proof, durable, maintenance free and represents the industrial history of the town."

Mr Rix said: "We need to get our maintenance services improved in relation to specialist items such as the fountain before we start accusing others.

"I don't know the name of the contractors off-hand and, to be truthful, I don't think I would release it if I did because it is really an issue of the council not putting enough money aside for the maintenance of public features like the fountain.

"The cost of any remedial action on the fountain would be in the region of £15,000."

Council leader Peter Britcliffe said: "I have already had preliminary talks with the civic society regarding the fountain, which I feel is a disgrace."