DOZENS for elderly people in Lancaster and Morecambe were due to learn today (Thursday) if their homes have any future.

Lancashire County Council was due to issue a report on its six month consultation exercise over the closure of 35 care homes, including four locally.

The council's cabinet - including Lancaster county councillors Ruth Henig and Nicki Penney - will consider the reports on August 1, with a final decision due in September.

But protestors have pledged to continue the fight against home closures until the bitter end - and one local MP is calling on the council to re-think its proposals after a new funding announcement from the Government.

One protestor said this week: "We will have bigger marches and other things planned, which I won't go into yet.

We are still urging councillors to reconsider and will continue to push them."

The report has been prepared and is waiting to be issued to councillors.

The council claims it would need £14.5 million to bring the homes up to scratch and that a growing number of people want care at home.

However, protestors say that home care is expensive and often inadequate, and that the homes could be repaired far more cheaply.

A petition, with 30,000 signatures, was handed to the Prime Minister and a march was staged on county hall in Preston last month.

Morecambe MP Geraldine Smith and her Lancaster counterpart, Hilton Dawson, have both opposed the closure plans.

Mr Dawson this week called for the council to scrap its findings after an announcement of £1billion in new funding for older people announced by health secretary, Alan Milburn.