A STINGING attack on Croydon Council leader Mike Fisher has been launched by his Lambeth counterpart over the under-threat Upper Norwood Library.

Croydon has been accused of creating a "smokescreen of false allegations" and been told to "put down the gun they have pointed at the community in Upper Norwood".

Fears have been sparked over the future of the Westow Hill facility after Croydon Council terminated its joint agreement with Lambeth last month.

The library is funded by both councils until the end of March. It remains unclear what will happen after.

Croydon Council leader Mike Fisher said the agreement was terminated because of Lambeth's "fundamental breach of the terms of the agreement".

But in a no-holds-barred attack, Cllr Steve Reed, the Labour leader of Lambeth Council, said: "It is clear that Croydon's Conservatives have long been seeking a way to kill off the Upper Norwood Joint Library after years of failure to meet their funding obligations. Now, instead of coming clean about their true intentions, they have tried to create a smokescreen of false allegations to cover their decision.

"Cllr Mike Fisher has chosen to hide behind a lie to try and avoid the blame for closing this much-loved library.

"Lambeth has pointed out a catalogue of incompetence, deception and errors in the way Croydon have made this decision that in our opinion makes it unlawful.

"I call on Croydon's Tories to put down the gun they have pointed at the community in Upper Norwood and, instead, sit down with us to find a way to protect this library for the future."

On Wednesday, The Advertiser discovered that Croydon chief executive Jon Rouse has now written to his Lambeth counterpart Derrick Anderson, giving three options for the library's future.

One of these options involves closing the library, while another could see Lambeth buying Croydon's share of the library.

But hopes of reviving the previous joint agreement appear to be dead in the water, the Advertiser understands.