COUNCIL chiefs today confirmed that a threatened playscheme for disabled children is to go ahead.

The scheme, at White Ash School, Oswaldtwistle, was cancelled earlier in the year after under-pressure Hyndburn Council withdrew funding, citing its own budget pressures as the reason.

But that move prompted an outcry from angry parents, which provoked a council U-turn and funding was restored.

However the playscheme organisers' nervous wait meant they were not able to go ahead and hire staff.

And that caused them a new headache - because without suitable staff the much-needed playscheme would not be able to go ahead, even with the funding in place.

But Hyndburn Council leader Coun Peter Britcliffe has revealed that the scheme will be running, although some staff are still needed if the scheme is to be as effective as last year.

He said: "I was briefed on this earlier in the week, and I can say that the scheme will go ahead."

Parents have welcomed the news. Pamela McCullagh's son Matthew Wilcock, 10, suffers from Angelman's Syndrome, leaving him with learning difficulties and epilepsy.

Pamela, 29, of Sparth Road, said: "It is a massive help."