A CIVIC Hall was left uninsured for 18 months after a mix-up between officials, which only came to light when robbers stole £2,300 from the building.

Now, Whitworth Recreation and Leisure Trust is calling on Rossendale Council, which owns Whitworth Civic Hall, to cover any potential compensation claim from the hall keeper who was attacked during the incident.

The trust also wants the council's insurers to cover cost of the money stolen from the community venue to prevent it facing financial difficulty during the coming year.

But the council treasurer has said the responsibility for insurance lies with the trust -- not the council -- and claimed the trust had been made aware of the fact.

The situation was revealed in a report to tomorrow's meeting of the council's corporate policy committee.

In recent weeks, Rossendale Council has been branded the country's worst in the way it manages and runs its services and last week the council's direct labour organisation lost its operator's licence to run highways and refuse vehicles after they were beset with problems.

The trust was set up two years ago and receives an annual contribution from the council to help towards running costs and cover expenses.

In April, two people hid in Whitworth Civic Hall and attacked the keeper, David Thomson, injuring his face before stealing the night's takings and forcing him to open a safe. The police were called and inquiries are ongoing, but no-one has been arrested.

A letter from trust secretary Coun Ron Pickup to Rossendale Council estimated the loss to be £2,365.46p. It stated: "I am now greatly troubled that this loss is not covered by insurance, more importantly that the company has been operating without employer liability insurance, which is unlawful.

"I have been in discussion with the borough treasurer on this question of insurance for 18 months or more.

"I am fully aware that the management agreement requires the company to enter into insurance for those matters other than the building. In good faith I have relied upon the word of the borough treasurer that the interests of the company were covered for at least the mandatory insurance requirements."

The trust is now in discussion with the council's insurer, Zurich Municipal, to enter into a policy with the company directly. A report to the committee says the borough treasurer's view is that any responsibility for insurance lies with the trust, not the council which has been made clear.

The report adds that up-to-date information about the effect the robbery has had on cashflow has still to be provided by the trust.

Today, vice-chairman of the committee Coun David Hancock said: "We will be discussing what action to take."