CAMPAIGNERS are fighting against council plans to cull the number of park rangers as a fresh round of budgets cuts prepare to bite.

Town hall officers are examining ways of stripping a further £16 million from budgets next year and park services are among those under threat.

The Star understands there are plans to cut the service from 11 rangers to four, with all assistant rangers to be scrapped.

The service has already been cut from 26 to 11 in recent years and the proposals would see four rangers working on the 64 parks across the borough.

The potential axing of rangers is expected to form part of a further round of redundancies, which could run into the hundreds.

One council source said: “Since 2010 we’ve saved £65 million and have been able to keep the wolves from the doors of a number of services. This year though they will come crashing through the doors and every single service that is not statutory has to be looked at.

“The rangers do a great job but when you balance it against soaring costs for looked after children and adult social care and health it is difficult.”

As reported previously by the Star, the youth service and library opening hours are other services in the firing line and proposals The Friends of Victoria Park is pleading with St Helens Council to reconsider proposed cuts to the rangers.

The voluntary organisation has written a letter urging to council leader Barrie Grunewald to reconsider and it is also amassing signatures in an online petition.

The appeal says the cuts would undo the work done to reduce anti-social behaviour and that free public events at the park, which have proved such a success this year since its £4.5m lottery funded restoration, would not be sustained.

The year has seen an increase in park users of 3,000 up to 31,000 and there are fears the cuts would reverse the health and social benefits from using the park’s restored facilities. “The rangers make a huge contribution to St Helens people, you only have to stand at Gate Lodge and see how many people come to the free events and use the park,” said Ann Shacklady-Smith, chair of FOVP.

“It helps poor people who can’t afford to go to other things and we’ve built it up into something here.

“We’ve spent so much on Victoria Park and other parks have as well and if we don’t keep up the level of cleanliness then the parks are going to decline and we will be back to where we started. It would be a waste of investment.

“I know that they have got to make cuts but this would just be a waste of what we have done and I think they’re already at the lowest level that they can be.

“We at the Friends are a small team of volunteers and we just can’t take any more cuts.” A spokesman for St Helens Council said: “Ongoing government cuts to council budgets mean that we are constantly reviewing the services we provide to the public.

“No decisions have been taken but, like many other services, we are looking at ways in which the Ranger Service will be provided in the future.”