A FOOTPATH described as a "nightmare" rat run for yobs should be moved, say residents and councillors.

Campaigners hope new legislation will allow footpath 105, which runs from Heys Lane through the Oakdale housing development, Ewood, behind Tiverton Drive and Arkwright Fold, Blackburn, to be rerouted, keeping criminals away.

They claim the path, rarely used by residents, provides a route for thieves and vandals to access property as it is badly lit and hidden from view.

Tiverton Drive resident Kathleen Mellor said: "We have had to replace our fence countless times because the vandals get on to everyone's gardens. We planted conifers but they even get through those.

"Lots of people round here have been burgled and we're all sick of the trouble this path causes."

The campaign is backed by Ewood and Fernhurst Community Association.

Chairman Nan Goodall wrote to Blackburn with Darwen Council stating: "We feel the arguments for closure are so strong, and the diversion of such little hindrance to pedestrians, that there is a clear mandate to proceed with this matter and indeed -- that it would be irresponsible not to."

All three Ewood ward councillors are backing the residents in their fight and local police gave their support at a community meeting.

Past efforts to divert the path have been complicated by a conflict of interest with ramblers' rights of way, but campaigners hope the council can make use of the new Countryside and Rights of Way Act, which states footpaths can be rerouted if they are being used for criminal purposes.

The alternative route would take walkers across a surfaced area overlooked by houses in Arkwright Fold.

If proposals get the go-ahead, householders would be consulted on options for the current pathway, including a locked gate, dense shrubbery or extended back gardens.

Councillor Maureen Bateson said: "This path serves very little purpose. I hope we can use the new laws to get the changes made that the residents want and bring an end to the nightmare suffered by some of them.

"Of course we want footpaths, but we want them in the right places where they are safe for people to use."

Blackburn with Darwen Council will decide whether to support the residents' campaign at a meeting later this month.