Out of 14 wards, there are a total of 15 seats up for election, including three vacancies.

Rossendale Council has been dominated by Conservative and Labour members for years.

With a 10-seat majority, the Tories currently have control of the council, and have done since 2004 when they swept to power, winning all 12 seats they stood for, robbing Labour of eight.

The Labour group enjoyed 14 years of control from 1986 to 2000. It lost it to the Conservatives that year, before winning power back in 2002, and then lost it again in 2004.

This year, candidates from the two parties are joined by those from the Lib Dems, an independent, and four BNP members. The latter are mostly standing in the Bacup area.

Conservative Anne Cheetham is standing for the Eden ward, after the death of her husband Jeff who was an Eden councillor for 13 years.

Tory council leader Duncan Ruddick said: "We will be building on the improvements for our customers that we started three years ago when we took office. That was just a few months after the damning Audit Commission inspection which rated us "poor".

"We are asking our supporters not to leave it to others to vote. We need you all in the polling booths.

Labour group leader David Hancock said: "We are promising electors the chance to vote for local control in the form of town councils which will enable local people far greater say over what the priorities in their area are.

"We think the current Conservatives that lead the council see the way to progress as being in statistics, not in the effects that the measures that they introduce have on people.

"We raise items of concern at full council, that are real issues, only to have a stock answer or to be fobbed of with some statistics that mean nothing to the people involved."

A key issue will be health care in Rossendale. The subject has been controversial since wards at Rossendale General Hospital in Rawtenstall have been closing, more recently under the major shake-up of health services across the region.

Some of the Conservative candidates, including outgoing Mayor of Rossendale Coun Peter Steen who is defending his Irwell seat, are standing under a Stop the Hospital Cuts banner.

Another hot topic is the proposed re-development of Rawtenstall.

The plans for its regeneration have divided opinion among residents and councillors.

The count will be held on Friday from 11am, with results expected by 3pm.