A TOWN hall which wrote off a restaurant's £20,000 rent bill, is owed another £8,000 in unpaid rent from the latest tenant, councillors have been told.

Labour bosses last night pledged to "leave no stone unturned" in their efforts to recover the money from Mrs Mary Burrows who took over the council-owned Old Stables Restaurant and tearooms at Towneley Park two years ago. Independent group leader Harry Brooks slammed the "sorry saga of ineptitude" by the council in its handling of the Old Stables and demanded a guarantee that Mrs Burrows, who has given notice that she will quit by April 1, would not "be let off the hook as well." "It seems beyond belief that after all the bad experiences of the past, this council and its officers have allowed this bill to reach this level," he told the council.

"It is an absolute shambles, a disgrace and the kind of mess only Burnley Borough Council could contrive."

Recreation committee chairman Barry Guttridge said the rent bill stood at between £8,000 and £9,000.

Vice-chairman John Harbour said Mrs Burrows had invested a lot of money in the premises.

Finance chairman Peter Kenyon said he was satisfied council officers had done all they could but he also felt no stone should be left unturned to recover the money.

Coun Brooks outlined the "sorry saga" of the Old Stables which began when the council wrote off a £20,000 rent bill owed by the previous tenant.

There was no reply from the Old Stables today, the restaurant has been closed in recent weeks.

Mrs Burrows' solicitor at Smith and Sutcliffe, Manchester Road, Burnley, was not available.

Last week Mrs Burrows told reporters she was staying with friends.

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