LOCAL government finance is so shot through with stringency that councillors seem permanently locked in a struggle with cuts in services.

But should the prudence that taxpayers expect ever turn into economies that put people's lives at risk?

Alarmingly, it seems that just such a dangerous juncture has now been reached in Lancashire.

For we see that even an emergency service as crucial as the fire brigade is being stretched to the limit, operating run-down equipment and running vehicles that need replacing.

The bill for sorting out this situation runs into millions of pounds. But the even worse price is that lives may be lost if action is not taken. This is no exaggeration. The warning is there in a report by fire chiefs, spelling out the danger - one that is particularly acute unless vital rescue equipment like turntable ladders and hydraulic platforms is renewed.

There can be no excuse for savings that jeopardise life. If cuts must be made, then they must be elsewhere.

But why is it that Lancashire County Council seems ready to go to this dangerous limit to save money?

Elsewhere, we see them cutting back on winter road gritting - in line with some arcane formula that uses the M6 motorway as a dividing line for treating icy roads.

Should not the criterion be not how many tons of salt are saved, but how many lives may be lost?

If these budget-blinkered councillors cannot grasp that kind of vital priority, they will be made to account by the public - and the coroner.

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