CULTURE Secretary Chris Smith today ordered a shake-up of the way National Lottery cash is handed out - as Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale were labelled lottery losers.

The area has already missed out on nearly £8million in lottery awards compared with other parts of the country - cash which could have improved facilities and lifestyles and created more jobs.

The district simply hasn't put in enough bids for lottery cash and has lost out too many times when applications have been made.

Now Mr Smith wants a re-think so former coalfield areas like Burnley can get a bigger share of the lottery "divi".

He decided on the overhaul after the first in-depth survey into levels of lottery funding across Britain showed wide variations in take up.

In particular, coalfield and former coalfield areas have been missing out.

The survey showed they had been awarded on average £32 per person less than other areas.

This was partly because the areas generated 2.5 fewer applications per 1,000 people than the national average and requested £97 less per person than the national average.

Mr Smith today told the annual Lottery Monitor Conference:"It is unacceptable that some parts of the country are doing much better than others from the Lottery. "I want everyone to have confidence that the money for good causes is allocated fairly and goes where it is needed.

"The people who play the lottery should benefit from the lottery - wherever they live.

"This research is a first step. It shows us exactly what has happened across the country to date but I now want to see a further investigation."

A spokeswoman for Mr Smith confirmed that Burnley was one of the areas he had in mind, while the area's MP Peter Pike welcomed the move.

Mr Pike said: "We are aware that Burnley is not getting as much out of the lottery as local people put in.

"We have made applying for lottery grants a major priority in Burnley because it is a major source of money. "Anything which brings more cash for the constituency from the lottery is to be welcomed."

He said he would ensure that the area took full advantage of the new system.

The last coalmine in Burnley - Hapton Valley - closed in the early 1980s with the bigger Bank Hall having shut some years before.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.