A LANCASHIRE building society boss has warned that 'carpetbaggers' are having a serious effect on the movement.

Evan Pilkington, chairman of the Chorley & District Building society said members of the public joining societies in the hope of cash windfalls were casting a shadow over their success.

"We consider it to be an unpleasant characteristic which seems to have developed very rapidly in large sections of the population," Mr Pilkington told the society's annual meeting.

"My colleagues and I believe this is a sad situation. Societies like the Chorley and District are now inundated with large numbers of speculative and falsely-motivated applications."

And Mr Pilkington stressed that his society had no intention of being involved in a merger or converting to a bank.

"We will be remaining an independent mutual society and we will continue to operate on the same principles that we have done for the last 137 years - serving the folk of Lancashire."

Last year the society was named in a Consumer Association survey as a mortgage best buy.

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