EMERGENCY work is being carried out at dozens of former council homes after builders discovered potentially lethal lighting circuits.

It is the second shock repair bill Twin Valley Homes has had to foot this year, coming just months after asbestos was found in around 100 homes in Blackburn.

Initially, around 75 houses in the Hamilton Street area of Mill Hill, were discovered to have electrical circuits which had not been earthed.

Now a review of similar-age houses across the borough is taking place, primarily in the Whitebirk area.

It will cost £26,000 to sort out the houses identified so far.

The company is saving money by fitting the earth wires -- which prevent metallic objects plugged in to the circuit from conducting electricity, which would lead to electrocution -- in tubes attached to the wall.

The alternative was to remove the plaster and do a total rewire, said Phil Richards, executive of Twin Valley Homes. He added: "These houses were built when two-pin plugs were used, so there was no earth. The same applies to lighting circuits.

For resident Jason Kay, 32, of Hamilton Street, Blackburn, the repairs went on for six weeks and were a "living nightmare." He added: "They came in unannounced to do some refurbishment and then came back in to re-do the electricity. The mess was horrendous."

And his sister Michelle said she can not bear to stay in her living room at night because of the mess. She lives in Hamilton Street with her three-year-old son. "I had done a lot of work to the house myself with a view to buying it," she said. "But this work was such a mess and their attitude was terrible."

Mr Richards added that the cost of the work would be 'absorbed' in Twin Valley's repair programme, which spans five years and costs £101million.

However, along with the asbestos find on the Delph Lane estate earlier this year, some tenants have been told their repairs and improvements will be delayed. That has led to some people threatening legal action and others refusing to pay their rent.

Around 100 residents will be moved out of their homes temporarily while the asbestos is removed.

Today, Conservative councillor Paul McGurty urged Blackburn with Darwen Council to help Twin Valley.

He said: "I have concerns about what is happening. Things keep appearing which no-one seemed aware of, like asbestos and unearthed wires. I think tenants have a right to ask 'what next?'"