THE backlash against Rossendale Borough Council gathered pace today as groups hit by the closures of leisure facilities vowed not to lie down without a fight.

And council tax payers in the borough also expressed outrage that a council which announced one of the highest rises earlier this year provided such poor services.

Earlier this week the council announced the closure of five leisure facilities in a bid to save £400,000 after an audit commission review demanded money was saved.

The facilities set to close by October are the Astoria ballroom and the Rossendale Museum in Whitaker Park, Rawtenstall, Whitworth Swimming Pool, the AB and D Centre hall in Bacup and Haslingden Public Hall.

Groups using the facilities have vowed to show their anger at the decisions, which they say have left them with nowhere to go. Some say events planned for months will now have to be cancelled, including this year's production of Annie at Haslingden Hall.

Irene Noble, secretary of the Friday Club, a senior's group which uses the AB and D Centre, was due at a special meeting to discuss concerns today.

She said: "It's about time someone stood up to the council. These facilities are all very well used and hundreds of people have been left in the lurch.

"People in Rossendale pay a very high council tax and the facilities have just been decimated."

Also planning action is Whitworth Swimming Club whose 250 members have been left with nowhere to swim. The group is holding an extraordinary general meeting next week.

The axing of leisure facilities has left the people of Rossendale poorly served compared to those in Burnley and Pendle, despite the fact that they pay a similar rate of council tax.

Facilities are also often more expensive - swimming at Haslingden pool costs £2.15 for an adult compared to £1.85 at the Thompson Centre in Burnley.

Among the leisure facilities on offer in Pendle there are 11 parks, Pendle Wavelengths pool, West Craven Leisure Centre, Seedhill athletics track and fitness centre, civic halls in Nelson and Barrowford, and a theatre in Nelson.

In Burnley council tax payers have Gawthorpe and Towneley Halls, the Thompson Centre and Padiham leisure centre, Gannow Pool, the Mechanics and several parks.

In Rossendale, after the five sites close, there will be a civic hall in Whitworth and Bacup, pools at Marl Pits and Haslingden and libraries in Bacup, Haslingden and Rawtenstall.

The Audit Commission, which branded Rossendale Council the worst of its kind in the country earlier this year, slammed them for their leisure facility provision saying many were in a poor state and there was no leisure strategy or priorities for the future.

It said people were dissatisfied with the council because services were some of "the worst in the country."

Rossendale faced a rise of nearly three times the rate of inflation - 6.8 per cent - when rates were announced, compared to 6.5 per cent in Burnley and 5.75 in Pendle.

Councillors said the rise of 6.8 per cent was one of the highest increase of any administration since the introduction of council tax in the early 1990s.

Council tax charges in Rossendale: Band A: £737.41, B: £860.32, C: £983.21, D: £1,106.12, E: £1,351.92, F: £1,597.73, G: £1,843.53, H: £2, 212.24.

Council tax charges in Burnley: Band A: £748.34, B: £873.08, C: £997.79, D: £1122.52, E: £1371.96, F: £1621.42, G: £1870.86, H: £2245.04.

Council tax charges in Pendle: Band A: £741.13, B: £864.65, C: £988.17, D: £1111.69, E: £1358.73, F: £1605.77, G: £1852.82, H: £2223.38.