IT is surely a crude and flawed way of handling things when applicants for home repair grants have to queue up from quarter to four on a freezing January morning to have a hope of getting one.

Yet this was the extraordinary situation that arose when the cash allocated by Rossendale Council for private-sector home repairs came up for grabs. On the very first day that this year's grants became available, there was a queue of householders stretching across the town hall car park and beyond the police station in Rawtenstall town centre.

But for most it was a waste of time. Fewer than half got a grant because only 60 applications could be accepted. The first-come, first-served system, is a far from fair one when it comes to the distribution of these grants.

After all, they are only available to people who are on benefits, disabled or infirm. What chance have the sick or handicapped of even taking part in the ruthless, pre-dawn scramble that stems from how the system operates?

And are the early birds who do get a grant, the ones with the most need?

Surely, the fittest and fairest way of allocating them should be to ensure that they go to those with the greatest necessity. These grants are not for titivation, but for essential repairs such as re-roofing, new windows and pointing -- items that can be too expensive and a great worry to householders on low incomes.

And if their availability is restricted by how much money there is for them, then the Council should make certain that they go to people with the worst repair problems.

At least now it is recognised that the present system needs to be reviewed, but the crux of the matter remains that of demand for grants far outstripping the resources for them. As long as that situation prevails, there will always be losers, whatever way the queue is handled.