DEVASTATED residents were today facing up to the fact they must fork out £4,000 each for roadworks outside their homes.

The group, from Higher Croft Road, Lower Darwen, faced Blackburn with Darwen Council in court after a dispute over who was responsible for the road, which is in desperate need of resurfacing.

And, after a second day in court, District Judge Paul Firth ruled the road was private and the responsibility of the residents.

They will each now have to pay from £200 to £4,000, depending on the length of road in front of their property.

The council decided the road, which is uneven and full of pot holes, needed repairing and sent letters to residents telling them the cost of repair.

The residents formally objected but the council decided the scheme should go ahead, which led to the court wrangle.

Nathan Banks, representing the residents, told Blackburn Magistrates' Court that his clients argued the road should be maintained at public expense because of previous work carried out on part of it. He also pointed out that the council had indicated on the town map in the 1950s that it was a maintainable road.

But Ian Hughes, representing the council, denied it had ever been adopted and said it was marked as a maintainable road in error on the town map.

He said work carried out in 1954 was merely "maintenance work" and did not bring the work up to adoptable standard.

In making his decision, District Judge Firth said he had looked at all the points but believed the road was private.

Resident Claire Wareing said: "We don't think it's a fair decision at all. We don't think we should have to pay for the road to be improved.

"We pay council tax and don't get any reduction, even though we don't get the services

"We also pay road tax the same as everyone else yet we have to pay for our own work to be done on the street. Even the way the council have allocated the cost of it is equal."