THE trust which runs public leisure facilit-ies in Hyndburn has announced it is set to fold after running up debts of more than £250,000.

Hyndburn Council trans-ferred the operation of facilities across the borough to the Leisure in Hyndburn Charitable Trust in 2001.

But the authority is now set to take control of the area's leisure centres after the trust said it could not afford to run the services without making cuts.

The failure of the trust has been blamed on low investment over the past decade as well as increased competition from facilities such as the JJB Soccerdome in Blackburn.

The trust is responsible for operating Hyndburn Sports Centre, Church, Mercer Hall leisure centre, Great Harwood, Wilson playing fields, Clayton-le-Moors, Oswaldtwistle Civic Theatre and part of Accrington Town Hall. In the last four years more than £1.2million has been invested in the facilities by the trust, managed by a chief executive and a board of directors.

But now the facilities, which attract around 800,000 users every year, will return to the council in January 2008.

Council leader Peter Britcliffe said: "There has been a complete lack of investment in leisure facilities in the borough in the past 10 years but we are determined the leisure centres will not close."

Hyndburn Council has a complex financing agreement with the trust which sees the authority pay £130,000 each month for payroll costs.

A spokesman for the leisure trust said: "It is our view that the current funding arrangements with the council are inadequate and had reached the stage where refurbishment and development of the ageing facilities was being impeded."

The day-to-day business of the leisure centres will continue normally.

Hyndburn's opposition labour leader Coun Graham Jones said: "Leisure services are in a mess in Hyndburn and it needs a considered approach to sort it out."