SHOP owners on a revamped Victorian arcade have hit out at council and police chiefs for turning their road into a part-time taxi rank.

Fleming Square, in Blackburn centre - which is normally closed to traffic - has now been opened up between 1.30am and 3.30am on Saturday and Sunday for private hire vehicles to queue.

The move has been made in a bid to whisk revellers away more quickly at the end of a night so they do not start fighting over the frustration at a lack of taxis.

This weekend saw the pilot project tried out for a second time.

Council officers removed the bollards from the square and allowed taxis down to join a queue of cabs outside Blackburn Cathedral.

But Simon Rhodes, owner of Finishing Touch in the arcade, said he was unhappy the square, which cost £400,000 to revamp, was being used in this way.

He added: "The scheme may well work for them but it should have been discussed with us first.

"It is a private street and we feel this could cause more litter, smashed glass and people urinating in the doorway.

"It is not fair when you have spent all this money to build a business then they use it as a road."

Lyn Chambers, 35, owner of The Bump maternity store, had the widow of her shop smashed during the night recently, and is worried drunken revellers will make this a regular occurrence

She said: "I totally appreciate that the town centre needs a solution but not on a square where we're not even allowed to have shutters on our windows.

"I can't be doing with people urinating and being sick in my doorway - I own a maternity shop, my customers feel queasy enough as it is.

"We haven't even been asked about this and now we haven't got time to prepare for it. "

Coun Andy Kay, executive member for regeneration said: "We have already been in discussion with some of the business owners on Fleming Square and informed them that the area will only be used for taxis to drive along and security should not be a problem as there will be a council staff and police presence."