EAST Lancashire has long had a massive headache because thousands of homes are in an appalling state.

Both council and privately-owned houses, especially many pre-1919 terraces, suffer with cold and damp problems which are so bad that they actually make the people living in them ill.

It's a situation which has dragged us down so that our boroughs regularly appear at the wrong end of league tables for social deprivation based on poor health and bad housing.

Decrepit housing spreads like an infection too as property values plummet, vandalism increases and communities disintegrate.

The only remedies are massive renovation or demolition and the prospective bill is so enormous that five East Lancashire councils drew up a joint ten-year battleplan which was presented to the government - with a £670 million price tag.

Today, Ian McCartney is in Blackburn to announce that £500 million is to be injected over three years into seven Pathfinder projects aimed at turning the tide on this history of neglect.

Exactly how much of the cash comes to East Lancashire is not yet clear although today's news is a step in the right direction and a recognition that the situation has to be tackled.

But the government has to pledge enough cash to make a real difference. This is not a problem to be nibbled at.