ON the eve of tomorrow's crunch vote on the future of Lancashire County Council's homes for the elderly, the grim indications are that councillors are set to approve the closure of 32 of them - 17 here in our region.

This is despite fact that tens of thousands of people in East Lancashire and in the rest of the county have spoken up against the proposals, have gone on the march, deluged this newspaper with letters of objection and signed petitions - in what is probably the biggest single-issue protest since the poll tax.

And although, under this onslaught, the county council has backed down slightly and reprieved three of the 35 care homes originally targeted, it will still be a colossal disgrace if it goes ahead with the closure of the others.

It will be a huge slap in the face for local democracy and accountability - because it will be the very opposite of what is wanted by the people whom the county council are elected to represent and serve. Faced with that indisputable fact, county councillors tomorrow must remember that at the ballot box they will reap what they sow.

But in addition to these important moral and political considerations, these proposals should not go ahead because at the crux of them is the sheer danger and impracticality of shutting 32 homes over a limited number of years without there being an immense fall-out in terms of anguish, upheaval and even risk to the lives of their hundreds of residents.

That is why the people of Lancashire are so overwhelmingly against the proposal.

Our county councillors have got just 24 hours to do the right thing - to vote against these closures and order a complete review of this absurd and dangerous plan.