A SENIOR council officer is to quiz community centre staff on why a pensioner was left to walk 10 miles home after he was left behind on an OAP trip.

Sayyed Osman, assistant director for regeneration at Blackburn with Darwen Council, visited the family home of Allan Jones' daughter and granddaughter in Parkinson Street, Mill Hill, Blackburn, on Monday night.

Now is he set to speak to Mill Hill Community Centre staff as the council continues its investigation to establish exactly how the man was left without his lift home.

Mr Jones, 69, who has suffered from Alzheimer's disease for eight years and has a very poor memory, spent four hours walking back from Preston Guild Hall to New Chapel Street, Mill Hill.

Police and family had desperately searched for him after staff at the council's Mill Hill Community Centre admitted they had waited for 20 minutes at the meeting point, but set off without him. It is thought Mr Jones walked back along Preston Old Road, through Higher Walton and Feniscowles.

He had been part of a group made up of five other other people, all women.

Council officers have apologised to the family, but said they did not seem to be adequately informed of the seriousness of Mr Jones' condition.

Mr Jones' daughter Pat, told Mr Osman, who was at the family's home for over an hour, that she had explained at length to centre staff about his condition.

She said: "My father is still very distressed by what happened and we are not happy with what happened to him. Mr Osman was really nice and apologetic. He didn't argue with what we told him, he just listened."

She also demanded a meeting with the workers from the centre in front of Mr Osman later this week so they could resolve their differences of opinion.

Mr Osman is to speak to staff at the centre as part of the investigation.

Mr Osman said: "As part of our internal investigation I went to meet Mr Jones' family and I explained how we were taking this forward."