THE senior officer suspended by Hyndburn Council could face another week of waiting to hear the outcome of an investigation.

Alan Rainford, the council's finance director, was suspended on full pay last Friday pending the result of an inquiry which he claimed was into "misuse of computer facilities".

John Davey, Hyndburn branch secretary of union Unison, of which Mr Rainford is a member, said he would expect a conclusion to the investigation by the end of next week.

If it found there was a case to answer, it could mean instant dismissal.

"We would press the authority to conclude their investigations as quickly as possible in order to resolve this issue one way or another," he said.

"At this stage there is no suggestion of guilt or innocence, it's just a question of suspension to allow the investigation to run its course.

"In a situation with a highly politically charged local authority any senior officer is vulnerable to political shenanigans. There has to be a special disciplinary procedure to ensure absolute fairness in dealing with officers."

Earlier this week, Mr Rainford said he had felt increasingly isolated since an investigation 18 months ago into allowances of more than £20,000 overpaid to members, found to have been caused by officers not checking expenses properly.

"There's hardly been a day in the last few months when I haven't felt like resigning on the spot," he said.

The days since the investigation started had probably been the lowest point in his life, he said.

Mr Davey said: "Anybody in that position is clearly in a very difficult situation. The ball is very firmly in the local authority's court. All we are doing at the moment is providing advice and support to the member the same as we do with any member, and we will, should he so desire, represent him at whatever level is appropriate."

Council manager Mike Chambers yesterday declined to comment further on the investigation, saying there had been no new developments.