BLACKPOOL Borough Council is playing down claims that it is suffering a cash crisis after imposing a recruitment freeze.

Already hampered by a reported £9 million debt, the council has now said it will no longer take on new staff in "non-essential" jobs.

If a staff member leaves, the position will not be filled and the only jobs not included in this recruitment freeze are those deemed essential positions, for example carers who work with the elderly or in schools.

But chief executive Graham Essex-Crosby, pictured, said that to talk of a crisis was to exaggerate the issue.

"This is a temporary measure to relieve pressure on the council's finances," he said. "The town finances depend very much on a number of factors such as the number of visitors to the town.

"This measure has been brought in temporarily so that in the future we will be able to free up more resources.

"But the term 'cash crisis' is inaccurate -- this is merely good housekeeping."

Managers of various services offered by the council will be asked to decided whether or not any vacancies they have within their departments are "essential."

This is defined as "staff required for strict operational purposes including schools and where staff deal with the most vulnerable in the community."

Mr Essex-Crosby added that most of the jobs which would not be refilled would be "white collar" and many of them in the town hall itself.

But he would not be drawn on how long he believed the measures would be in place for.