A COUNCIL chief is threatening to take Burnley's biggest landlord to court to force it to clean up its act on former council estates in the West End of town.

LibDem leader Gordon Birtwistle says that while it was once every family's wish to live in a modern house, with a car at the door, the situation at one house in Kinross Street was a grotesque parody of that dream -- a scrap van dumped in the garden of a derelict and boarded up semi. And he says the scene is not untypical of the kind of conditions hundreds of residents on west end estates have to put up with.

Now he has written to Burnley and Padiham Housing to demand the company which took over all Burnley's council houses earlier this year, clears rubbish from gardens, cuts down towering weeds and generally tidies up gardens in the area.

And he says he is prepared to take legal action under the Environmental Protection Act to force a clean sweep of estates.

Coun Birtwistle who forced the former council landlord to clean up last year when he threatened to take out an injunction under the same Act of Parliament, says penalties for private landlords like Burnley and Padiham Housing are far more severe.

"It can result in very heavy fines and the directors going to prison."

He went on: "The state of many gardens is appalling -- worse than they were under the council. "There are many of my constituents who look after their properties and they should not have to put up with such poor neighbouring conditions."

He added: "One house had a car dumped in the garden and you couldn't see it for the weeds -- it was disgraceful."

Alan Tyrrell, spokesman for Burnley and Padiham Housing, said the company as a responsible landlord was taking the questions of estate gardens and overall environment for its customers very seriously and handling Coun Birtwistle's inquiry at director level.

He said changes coming into effect next month provided for six additional estate caretakers to complement the former three-strong team employed by the council.

A task force of five extra caretakers was also employed earlier in the summer to deal with the problems of empty properties and unkempt gardens and they were making good progress.

The company had also set up a Tenant Enforcement Team to ensure people adhered to their tenancy agreements, including keeping their gardens tidy.

Mr Tyrrell said houses in Kinross Street were earmarked for early demolition and added: "It can be seen that the company is not complacent with respect to garden maintenance and it is a focused priority to achieve a marked improvement."

Mother-of-six, Angela McIntosh, a Kinross Street resident since March, said the area was in a bad state and nothing appeared to be happening.

"It seems to have got worse since they demolished some of the houses."

"There is glass and rubbish dumped all over the place and it is dangerous."

She added: "You can't stop kids playing out and they are being attracted to dumped cars and other things -- and they are getting hurt. "

Mrs McIntosh said her four-year-old son, Harry, was burned when workmen left a fire unattended during demolition work.

She went on: "I like it here and it would be wonderful if they cleaned it up."

Picture: Burnley Council's LibDem leader Gordon Birtwistle outside the boarded up house in Kinross Street where a van has been dumped in the garden