A MAYOR has decided to dip into his pockets and replace his borough's ceremonial robes because the council cannot afford to buy them.

Coun Gordon Birtwistle, said that despite an annual expenditure of £14million Burnley Council was unable to find the £815 needed to replace the "tatty" robes.

With approximately 40,500 homes in the borough, every household would need to find 2p each to raise the money for the new robes.

The council has been forced to introduce sweeping budget cuts across the borough after a shortfall of £1million was predicted for the year 2003/04, with a further £1million deficit the following year.

The authority has blamed the deficit on the amount of government funding in the borough, which has remained unchanged in the past 10 years.

Peter Pike, the town's MP said today the council should have put procedures in place years ago to raise money for the robes' replacement.

Nobody from the council was available to comment on why money could not be found to replace the robes.

But leader of the council, Stuart Caddy said: "Burnley will benefit from this kind offer.

"On behalf of the council I would like to thank Coun Birtwistle for his generosity."

Coun Birtwistle, who runs his own engineering firm in Clayton-le-Moors, said: "The robes are getting tatty and well past their sell-by date and are beginning to fall apart.

"We need some new ones. The council isn't in a position to get them. So I thought I would like to leave the council something as a memory of my year as the Mayor of Burnley."

The robes, which were first worn by a Burnley mayor in 1935, are used on official mayoral engagements and in council meetings.

They were made in London by Ede and Ravenscroft from doeskin cloth and musquash fur from the South American muskrat.

The new robes will be a replica of the originals, which will be displayed in Towneley Hall, but with fake fur instead of musquash.

Coun Birtwistle's decision was influenced by the death of his mother, Peggy, who died at her Oswaldtwistle home last year.

He said: "This year I have been working hard to raise money for a scanner.

"I made the decision after my father, Ernest, died of prostate cancer.

"My mother died two months before the mayor-making ceremony.

"She had been out to buy her new outfit, but dropped dead from heart failure.

"It was quite distressing and she never got to see me in the robes. I got some money from her estate so I thought it appropriate to spend it on something fitting."

Speaking about Burnley Council's current financial predicament, he continued: "That is the situation. It is disappointing but the council has other priorities.

"If people meet our mayor in a new set of new robes and think to themselves how smart they look, that will reflect well on the town." Mr Pike said: "The council should set aside some money each year which would be able to pay for new robes.

"It seems very odd that the mayor has had to pay for them out of his own pocket."