BURNLEY'S bowlers have called on the council to save their sport from extinction by investing in their clubs.

Fans of the sport say bowling greens across the borough have suffered from years of neglect and that people are turning away from the sport.

The call came as a report into the provision of parks, open spaces and sporting facilities revealed the council could sell-off some areas because they could not afford to maintain them.

The wide-ranging review also suggests selling off some bowling greens which are under-used.

But today the president of the East Lancashire Saturday Bowls League, Kenneth Musk, said the council needed to invest in the greens to encourage more people to play.

Mr Musk, who plays at the Causeway club based at Towneley, said: "Over the last five years the greens haven't been in as good a condition as previously and people simply are not coming because they are not good enough. The council needs to do more to start improving the condition of the greens."

Representatives of the 20 greens in the borough recently asked Rossendale-based greenkeeper Ron Lacey to express their views to the council.

Mr Lacey, who looks after a private green in Rochdale and has 25 years experience, said: "The people who are looking after these greens do not know what they are doing.

"There are about 30 fewer people playing because of the state of the greens." Last week the Secretary of Towneley Golf Club threw down the gauntlet to council bosses and said they would lose the course unless it was improved.

Nigel Clark said the club had been demanding action from the council to invest in the 18-hole course for the last five years without success.

Poor presentation, the condition of the bunkers and fairways and poor drainage of the greens were included in a catalogue of complaints made by the golf club and others to the council.

The council will debate controversial plans to sell off some of Burnley's open spaces after it revealed it could not afford to maintain the borough's 422 hectares of parks, open spaces and woodland, including the six main parks.

But such proposals are likely to be met with strong local opposition.

A recent survey showed 58 per cent of the people questioned were opposed to sell-off plans to save money.

Simon Goff, of the borough council's leisure department, said: "Regular meetings take place between the parks services staff and the bowling clubs to identify improvements needed to the greens and pavilions and there is at least one annual meeting of the club representatives and the council.

"This is now being developed and will be used as the vehicle for developing sport in Burnley and implementing any changes resulting from this review."