THEATRE groups today reacted with horror over the prospect of losing the town's flagship theatre and arts centre in a council cash cutback.

Concerns were raised about the closure of Burnley Mechanics after bosses at Burnley Borough Council announced possible cost cutting schemes to amid their deepening financial crisis.

Julia Baker, one of the proprietors of the Sparrowhawk Hotel, in Burnley, which plays host to numerous fringe acts during the Burnley Blues Festival said it would be a great pity if the theatre closed.

She said: "I think it would be a very sad thing for the whole town not just for the Blues Festival. There are a lot of diverse things happening at the Mechanics.

"We need a bit of culture and something that will enthuse people and inspire them. It would be a great great pity.

"From the Blues Festival point of view it would be very short sighted of the council to close it. We don't have that much to offer in Burnley. People just think of us as an East Lancashire town with rows full of houses but the festival awakens their imagination.

"Not only do they come to the Mechanics but they spend money in the town and must bring in an awful lot of revenue."

Chairman of the Burnley Light Opera Society, Colin Sanderson, said: "I hope they can see their way to keeping it open. It would be disastrous if it closed."

Unison official Peter Thorn said: "everybody is really worried about the building and the future of members' jobs but nothing is clear at the moment."

A worker at Burnley Mechanics said today: "We have been informed there may be redundancies and of course we are all concerned about our jobs."

In a bid to save an annual £500,000 of council cash, other proposals include the closure of Gannow Baths, cutting after school play provisions and charging admission to Towneley Hall.

Burnley MP Peter Pike said: "I hope they don't have to take these steps. I have put certain points across to ministers and they announced that extra money had been made available on a national basis but that does not mean any more will be made available on a local level."

Burnley Council's main opposition spokesman Harry Brooks said he would fight against any plans to close Gannow Baths and Burnley Mechanics. He said: "The are many areas where real savings can be made without resorting to the closure of valued facilities."