BURNLEY'S award-winning bus station is to close for repairs after cracks and potholes opened up in the surfacing.

The decision to close the £3million interchange for more than two days over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend after contractors admitted Tarmacadam was being cracked by diesel fuel dripping from buses.

The station's concourse will remain open for travel enquiries, although travellers will be redirected to temporary pick-up points in nearby streets.

Contractors Tarmac, which laid the surface for the bus park, have said they will pay for the repair work themselves after admitting the error.

The work is believed to be costing Tarmac several tens of thousands of pounds to repair.

Transport bosses said the serious faults were found after the company failed to mix in an additive when laying the entrance and bus apron.

A Burnley history society, who recently awarded the bus station with a blue plaque award, has today called for Tarmac to make a public apology to travellers for their mistake.

County Coun Jean Yates, Lancashire County Council Cabinet member for Highways and Transportation, said: "We are recalling the contractor to do the work again entirely at their expense.

"Burnley bus station is an important venue for shoppers and commuters across the whole of East Lancashire, so we are timing a brief closure to keep disruption to an absolute minimum.

"A missing additive means that spilt diesel was beginning to break the surface.

"It may not be noticeable to most people yet but we are determined to act quickly before it becomes so. We are very proud of this station and are acting promptly to maintain the highest standards for the travelling public."

The bus station will operate normally during the day on Saturday, May 1. It will close in the evening and reopen at 6am on Tuesday, May 4.

Bus routes will be redirected to Croft Street, Red Lion Street and Parker Lane.

The modern transport interchange has won four awards in the year since its completion, including the Medium Sized Interchange Project of the Year title at the Integrated Transport Awards in London earlier this year.

The space-age station, the result of a multi-million pound partnership between Lancashire County Council and Burnley Borough Council, opened in August 2002.

Roger Frost, chairman of Burnley Civic Society, said: "There has been a bus station here since 1952 and we have never had much of a problem with surfaces, despite the fact that its built on a very awkward site.

"I hope Tarmac get on with this quickly to avoid any unnecessary disruption and now they have admitted liability, I would hope they will be the ones to apologise to the travelling public."

A spokesperson for Tarmac Ltd said: "At the moment the deterioration is only of limited extent around the entrance. However, extensive testing has revealed that the problem will continue to develop.

"We are conscious that a patched surface does nothing to complement the stylish, award-winning bus station, therefore prompt action will be taken.

"Inevitably the work will cause some inconvenience to the travelling public of Burnley, but with close co-operation with Burnley Borough Council and the contractor this will be kept to a minimum by undertaking the work over the Sunday and Monday of the Spring Bank Holiday."