POLICE Community Support Officers in Burnley are set to be saved after the council pledged to throw them a cash lifeline.

The council had previously funded nine of the boroughs 28 PCSOs, but their future had been thrown into doubt after the Government announced cuts to council funds.

But Burnley Council’s executive committee are next week set to approve plans to spend £87,200 on continuing to fund those PCSOs, with Lancashire Police funding the rest.

Coun Neil Mottershead, who is responsible for community safety, said: “Since we realised the whole country was going to have to find some really big savings, I’ve been asking people which services really matter to them.

“One service that Burnley people told me they valued was community policing.

“The PCSOs are the eyes and ears of the police, and feed a lot of invaluable information to the regular officers.

"They also help to draw communities together, and many of them go well beyond the ordinary police remit to help keep communities close-knit.”

The news comes weeks after councillors in Rossendale agreed to spend £33,000 on retaining all the PCSOs in that borough, and Pendle councillors are set to approve plans to spent £66,000 on retaining their PCSOs for 2011/12 in the coming weeks.

Coun Charlie Briggs, leader of Burnley Council, said: “The council works closely with the police and other partners to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour and make our borough a safer place.

“PCSOs are an important part of that work. They are popular with residents who want to see officers on the streets and they help free up the time of other police officers to deal with more serious crime.

"We want to see PCSOs continue their hard work in improving the quality of life for residents across our communities.”