LIFE-SAVING lamp-posts which crumple if hit by a car are being tested in the Ribble Valley to see if they save lives.

Highways bosses want to find out if they new-style lighting columns reduce the number of fatalities on the county's roads before deciding to invest in any more.

Unlike traditional metal lamp-posts, the new ones are designed to bend if hit by the force of a car, so that the post takes the force of the impact, rather than the vehicle.

A hinge is built into the post, which is made of plastic and glass, which helps the lamp-post to buckle. Overall, it has 10 per cent of the stiffness of steel.

The trial, which follows the introduction of similar lamp posts elsewhere in the country, is being carried out in conjunction with the European Union by Lancashire County Council on several roads in the Ribble Valley.

Clitheroe Road, Whalley, has had 38 of the posts installed, while 104 have been placed along the A666 Whalley New Road in Billington and Wilpshire.

On the A671 Whalley Road between Pendleton and Clitheroe, 49 have been fitted, replacing existing lighting columns.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "In total, around 220 composite lighting columns were installed as part of the EU-backed Ecosafe project, which researches safety of highway equipment. Some of the cost is being met from existing county council highways budgets.

"It is quite possible they could become standard features on highways in the future."

Around 15 accidents involving the new lamp-posts and vehicles have happened so far -- with no fatalities.

A spokesman for the manufacturers, Europrojects Ltd, based in Leicestershire, said: "The likelihood is that we slow the vehicle down because it rides up along the column.

"One accident we had with one of our columns was at 90mph, and there were no injuries.

"Under normal circumstances, if they'd hit a steel lamp-post, it would have resulted in death."

The materials used to make the lamp-posts are also used to make crash barriers on motorways and blades for wind turbines.

They have a life-expectancy of 40 years, rather than the average 20 years of traditional lamp-posts.

Around 200 lives a year are lost in accidents involving lamp-posts, with a further 3,000 injuries caused.

Unlike traditional lamp-posts, the new ones don't corrode when dogs urinate up them.