THREE East Lancashire pre-school nurseries will not be the last to close as part of a massive shake-up of childcare services.

And two children's homes in the area are to also face the axe -- just a month after the axe fell on another two.

Today the councillor in charge of Lancashire County Council social services, Coun Chris Cheetham, said that the three day nurseries,in Accrington, Colne and Clitheroe, would not be the last to be shut.

The nurseries, which primarily help disadvantaged families, are closing to release funds for new family support centres which provide specialist support for families with problematic children up to the age of 18.

The move has been given broad support by Conservative opposition councillors, although leader Coun Robert Hodge expressed concern that the council had delayed too long before introducing the changes and was now rushing them through.

A meeting of the quality protects panel yesterday decided the fate of the three nurseries, in Manchester Road, Accrington; North Valley Road, Colne, and Bright Street, Clitheroe, along with three others elsewhere in the county.

More than £1million will be shifted from the day nurseries to the new family centres as a result of the closures.

After the meeting, Coun Cheetham said the fate of other pre-school nurseries had yet to be decided, including the Brunshaw Family Unit, in Burnley.

He said: "Tough choices have to be made and this will create a new service which will help people a lot more."

Instead of just a basic pre-school service, support staff will be employed to help families deal with specific problems as they emerge.

Parents of children with mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence or child protection problems will all receive support.

Teenage parents, families from minority groups and parents of teenagers with behavioural problems will also receive support.

Coun Cheetham added: "Without meaning to sound harsh, at the moment we are just providing a sticking plaster over a problem, by just taking the children our of problematic situations for four to six hours a day.

"Here, we will go to the centre of the problem and find our what is causing it.

"If we can help these families before the problems become so severe that the children have to come into our care, then I think we will have succeeded.

"We have tried this scheme in Accrington and it does appear to have worked."

"The premises being closed are in areas where there are other pre-school facilities. The growth in the number of Sure Start schemes, where Government cash is given to areas to pay for pre-school facilities, means we should be able to target our resources elsewhere.

"It could well mean more pre-school nurseries will close."

Staff at the Clitheroe and Accrington centres refused to comment when news reached them that their centres were to close.

Coun Cheetham said: "We will be talking to the staff to see they can be transferred. They have a wealth of experience."

The pre-school nurseries will close in summer 2002.

As part of the shake-up, the council has already shut two children's homes, which provide care for children who no longer live with their parents.

Dyke Nook in Accrington and Marsden Hall Road, Nelson, have already been closed and now plans are being drawn up to close two more.

The remaining six would have the number of residents reduced with two being designated short term centres for emergency placements.