COUNCIL officers are close to finalising a deal which will herald the arrival of more asylum seekers in Blackburn and Darwen.

A consortium of North West local authorities, including Blackburn with Darwen Council, is drawing up a contract with the Government to house the refugees.

Blackburn with Darwen said today that it will take an agreed number of asylum seekers - although it does not yet know how many. The cost of the refugees' stay will be funded directly by the Government and will include housing, education and any extra staff that will be needed.

Under an interim deal, three families and 17 single refugees have already moved into the borough, most from eastern Europe.

Coun Maureen Bateson, executive member for Citizens' Rights and Consumer Affairs on the council, said: "Blackburn with Darwen has a long tradition of welcoming people who have had to leave their homeland, for whatever reason.

"We provided accommodation for people from the island of Montserrat and more recently for a number of refugees from Kosovo.

"Arrangements for accepting asylum seekers are well in hand and we are working to ensure that not only will they receive a quality service, but that all the costs will be borne by central Government."

Last week several East Lancashire authorities expressed concern over the Government's recent move to deal directly with private landlords in the housing of refugees and council chiefs are due to meet Home Secretary and Blackburn MP Jack Straw within the next few days.