DAY centres are to close following a council review that says the number of older people using the centres is falling.

Wigan Council has decided that three centres, including Laburnum Road centre in Lowton, will close because they have little capacity to be developed in the future.

The council has stressed that this will not result in any loss of ability to cope with demand, with a remaining four sites to be expanded to create a range of new specialised day support services.

Director of adult services, Bernard Walker, said: "There are fewer people attending our services, particularly older people and those who do tend to be more frail.

"While any decision to close a centre is not taken lightly, this approach provides the chance to develop more focused support for frail older people."

The report found that average attendance borough wide has dropped to 148, with 160 places promised and no cut in the 71 slots for disabled people.

Council chiefs are hoping to re-deploy staff affected by the closures and say they are committed to avoiding redundancies if possible.