VOLUNTARY groups were today fearing the worst after a council announced it is to withdraw funding because of a £1million hole in its budget.

Burnley Borough Council says a huge deficit will mean cash to voluntary organisations will have to be stopped.

Council leader Stuart Caddy said savings would have to be made over the next three years. He said: "There will inevitably be difficult decisions ahead of us.

"However, our priority is to ensure that we give Burnley residents the best possible value for money services.

"There has been a considerable increase in the pots of money available to voluntary organisations over recent years.

"With Lottery money, various community funds and County Council grants, there is now more money available to groups in Burnley than ever before."

Councillor Rafique Malik is blaming the £1million gap in funding on an increase in spending on parks in the town.

He said: "We are having to make a £1million saving because we do not have the resources to meet our current spending commitments.

"If we continue as planned, we will be short.

"Our budget has 37 percent of resources allocated to parks and open spaces, when the national average is somewhere in the region of 17 per cent."

One group facing difficulty if funding is withdrawn is the

Bangladeshi Welfare Association, Belford Street, Burnley, which provides guidance and counselling on employment and health issues.

Organiser Muhammed Sher Ali Mia said today: "If we were to lose funding it will mean a loss of a service that has been helping people in this part of the town for the past 12 years.

"A lot of people rely on us."

Burnley MP Peter Pike today blamed his own government for the problem.

Mr Pike said: "I know the council are having difficulty. They do, in my view, get a raw deal from the government.

"The core funding for Burnley has not changed for ten years. There is going to be an overhaul of the system, so we will have to wait and see what that delivers."

A spokesman for the Council for Voluntary Services, Terry Hephrun, said until the full implications of the financial review were known he was unable to comment on the situation.