CAMPAIGNERS today claimed a small victory in their fight to stop 19 of East Lancashire's care homes from the axe.

Frank Hessey, chairman of the Lancashire Care Association, spoke out about his top-level meeting with a junior health minister as protest action against the closures began to gather momentum.

He, along with other campaigners, spent 50 minutes with Jacqui Smith MP yesterday -- some 20 minutes more than originally arranged.

She will not comment on the meeting until the matter is discussed in Parliament next Tuesday.

But Mr Hessey, whose organisation represents private care homes across the county, said: "She seemed very concerned that the private sector had not been consulted about these plans.

"The county council is supposed to be building capacity and providing choice and for it to do that, they need to work with the private sector." The county council is proposing to close and sell 35 of its 48 residential homes for the elderly, 19 of which would be in East Lancashire, as part of a review of the service.

Unions fear the reorganisation will cost jobs and around 700 pensioners in East Lancashire face an uncertain future.

Many of them are currently living in accommodation in need of refurbishment. County Hall has not carried out any of the work because it knew the review was looming.

Just under £4million needs to be spent on things such as removing walls and increasing bedroom sizes before 2007 to bring all homes up to new Government minimum standards.

But County Hall has said a further £10million needs to be spent to carry out urgent refurbishments on things such as faulty lifts, damaged fire alarms, unhygienic kitchens and poor sanitation.

If the sale of all the homes earmarked for closure goes ahead, around £4.4million will be raised to cover the cost of refurbishing the others and developing them. The council plans to transfer some pensioners into private care and look after others in their own homes as part of the shake-up and a final decision will be taken in July.

Last week, county council leader Hazel Harding was ordered to rethink the plans when she attended a meeting at Westminster with the county's MPs.