BAFFLED members of Ineos Sports and Social Club are putting their cross on ballot papers for the third time in three weeks after a voting muddle.

Hundreds of members are trying to decide the fate of the Bridge Street club after management elected to hand the club over.

Lucite International -- formerly known as ICI Acrylics -- decided to hand over the deeds of the club free of charge to members if they decided to keep it up themselves.

But despite an overwhelming hands-up vote on May 7 at the club, the result was disallowed after the vote was deemed illegal, according to the constitution.

And a postal vote has since been abandoned after concerns over "ambiguous" choices and confusion over "what they are voting yes and no to".

So to ensure a third postal vote is a success, the club secretary Kevin Smith has issued a letter to all the members and a stamped addressed envelope in a bid to resolve the vote once and for all.

If members vote in favour of taking over the club, it would be legally sold to to the members for a nominal fee and the club's constitution would be reviewed.

Voting against the take-over would mean the building would be put up for sale and any profit from the sale of the premises would be equally divided between all the members and associate members.

The half-century old club was traditionally used by manufacturing workers at Darwen's two ICI plants.

Charterhouse Development Capital, under which Lucite International operates, bought ICI Acrylics in November 1999 for £505million. The company employs 300 people in Darwen.

The latest postal vote deadline is May 31 and the final decision is expected in June.