The bosses of East Lancashire's main train operator have agreed to meet Blackburn with Darwen Council's leader over 'completely unacceptable' service cancellations affecting the borough.

Councillor Phil Riley, also a member of the Transport for the North Board, wrote to Northern complaining about the dropping of many trains using Blackburn station on Sundays.

Data compiled in October showed almost half of all trains due to stop at Blackburn station on Sundays were cancelled, with staff availability due to sickness and contracts blamed.

His letter said: "I write to express significant concerns regarding the frequent Sunday train cancellations at Blackburn train station.

"It is extremely concerning that Blackburn, one of the worst of the UK’s ‘busy’ railway stations to travel from on a Sunday, has almost half of the scheduled services cancelled.

"I was alarmed by the research from on-time trains, that over 45 per cent of services scheduled for Sundays were cancelled over the last six months.

"Furthermore, October 13 was the sixth Sunday in a row where you have issued a ‘do not travel’ warning. As a result, Blackburn station has been rated as the fourth most unreliable out of the country’s busiest stations.

"It is completely unacceptable that Blackburn and other northern communities continue to suffer from this level of Sunday cancellations."

A Northern spokesperson said: "We have agreed to meet with him and discuss these issues.

“We are sorry for our recent performance, accept it has not been good enough and understand the impact this has on our customers. Cancellations are always a last resort and only applied when we have no other option.

“Train crew availability remains an issue in the North-West, especially on Sundays which rely on crews volunteering to work additional hours.

“We have secured a new rest-day working agreement for our train drivers and are keen to agree on a way forward on Sundays with our conductors, by working closely with them and their union representatives.”