LANCASHIRE County Council's welfare rights service is asking all widowers in the county to check out their entitlement to benefit before December 3.

Legal action is being taken by a group of widowers from around the country to claim the same Social Security benefits they would have had on the death of their spouse, had they been women.

A date of December 3 has now been set for the court to hear four test cases.

If these cases are successful, anyone else included in the group action will gain and could be entitled to a lump sum of around £1,000 or in some cases much more, plus ongoing weekly benefit.

County Coun Niki Penney, cabinet member for communication, information and lifelong learning, said: "We are trying to contact any widower whose wife died before April 2001 and had paid some full National Insurance contributions.

"The rules are complicated and not all widowers will have a claim.

"For example, in the case of pensioner couples, if both were getting retirement pension when the wife died, the widower is unlikely to qualify. But we are urging widowers to find out if they have a claim before it is too late.

"For anyone wanting to be included in the group action there is a 'no win, no fee' scheme in place so nobody runs the risk of losing any money by taking part."

Possiblke claims can be checked with a welfare rights office, whose address can be found in libraries or in the telephone directory , or by writing to Welfare Rights Service, Freepost, Preston, PR1 8BR.