PENSIONERS in Pendle have been left fuming by cost-cutting measures aimed at saving cash over the festive season.

Senior citizens will now have to pay £1 to enjoy the traditional Christmas lunch with the Mayor and fewer of them will be able to take part in the festive event.

Councillors have agreed to introduce a £1 charge for the Christmas meals, which were previously free and cut the number of lunches held in Nelson by two thirds in the cost-cutting measures.

The Labour group on Pendle Council criticised the move, which was agreed by the authority's policy committee and vowed to fight to overturn the decision at the full council meeting.

Last year's Mayor, Labour councillor Colin Waite, said: "This charge has been imposed without any thought for the people who attend them, or the pleasure they give to the over-70s of the borough.

"I feel sure the hurt of this new charge will make some pensioners feel less valued in Pendle's society."

Coun Waite said it was another 'attack' on the elderly by the Liberal Democrats following the decision to withdraw payment of the 'Mayor's fiver' by the previous Liberal Democrat administration.

He said the decision to cut the number of lunches will mean 250 pensioners will miss out on the chance to enjoy the traditional event. Services director John Kirk, in a report to the policy committee, said there was an increasing discrepancy between the number of people who took free tickets for the 13 lunches held across the borough and those that attended. Last year, 1,360 tickets were taken but only 904 people turned up for their lunch, resulting in the waste of 456 meals.

"The numbers have shown a rapid decline in recent years," he added. "The reduction in numbers is more pronounced in Nelson, although a decline is noted elsewhere even though the events are free. People are voting with their feet."

Mr Kirk said making a charge for the lunch would help ensure people who bought tickets turned up for the meal.

The policy committee agreed to hold 11 lunches this year, including one in Nelson, and stage 'A Bit of a Do' event for the elderly, including lunch and entertainment, on the same format to events held at the Fence Gate Inn, Fence, in recent years, in the town.

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