IMAGINE trying to make your way through a busy shopping centre and across main roads without being able to see where you are going...

That's the situation Fylde Mayor, Councillor Hannah Cummings-Miller, put herself in when challenged to put on a blindfold and stroll around St Annes Square on Monday afternoon.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association wrote to Cllr Cummings-Miller in a bid to raise awareness of some of the problems blind and visually impaired people face every day on Britain's streets.

The challenge was timed to take place just before the charity's 2003 Safer Streets campaign being launched next week.

Cllr Cummings-Miller was helped around the square by visually impaired resident Samantha Culpan and her two-year-old guide dog Worthy.

"I'm just delighted I can take the blindfold off. It was frightening," she told The Citizen.

"Everybody should have a go. You don't realise how much you rely on your sight."

Cllr Cummings-Miller route took her across Garden Street, where Samantha pointed out that dropped kerbs on opposite sides of the street don't line up, causing difficulty for blind people.

Samantha, who qualified as a guide dog owner in 1994, also said that because guide dogs are trained not to cross near cars with running engines, the taxi rank right next to the dropped kerb can sometimes be a problem.

Several cars were also parked on double yellow lines, adding to the obstructions.

Cllr Cummings-Miller admitted: "I don't know what you can do about it." But she urged motorists to park considerately -- including other disabled people, even with an orange badge.