PARENTS, volunteers and staff will take part in a "Save Our Play Sessions" candlelit vigil outside Burnley Town Hall tonight.

They are opposing any budget cuts to the service, prompted by a reduction in money allocated to the council by the government and will be outside the Town Hall during a meeting of the Burnley Council executive.

Long time community worker Chris Keene is chairman of a campaign committee set up to fight any proposed cuts.

He said: "We have heard various figures mentioned of between £30,000 and £60,000 which would have a terrible impact on children's play services across the borough.

"We are going to the Town Hall with a rota of parents and volunteers who will stand outside both the front and back doors in a silent, peaceful protest with banners and candles."

Council leader Stuart Caddy said: "I will go out to speak to them tonight if I get the chance.

"Obviously we don't want any cuts. We don't know where we are until about Christmas time, until we get the standard spending assessment figures from the Government.

"We start off looking at all services to make a saving of £950,000. We are trying to press Ministers for a better SSA for Burnley and trying to get as much money into Burnley as we can.

"The amount we will be allowed to spend next year is going to be less than we had this year because the population in Burnley has declined. In fact our SSA was more in 1992 than it is in 2002.

"We have to start looking into these matters at an early stage. The campaign group are also starting early but I can understand their thinking."

Chris added: "It is our understanding that it is the beginning of the annual budget process for next year and that anything up to half a million pounds has to be saved from the recreation budget as a whole, not just play groups but over-60s groups, leisure facilities and parks."

He said the focus of the campaign group was the budget for children's play facilities adding: "A cut of £60,000, or 25 per cent of the budget, would impact more than a quarter of the sessions. It would involve cutting jobs, five full time jobs or equivalent."

He said staff were affected because of their commitment to the service and because some jobs were under threat.

Executive member for leisure services Coun Barry Guttridge commented: "The council has some severe budget decisions to make this year. Every area will be looked at but it is still in the early stages and no decisions have been made at all.

"There is no item on the executive agenda tonight for this to be discussed. The only leisure item is about a best value review for community and leisure services."

Coun Guttridge added: "We are having meetings every couple of weeks looking at the budget asking all service managers where we can make savings. At the present time we don't know what will be affected."