CAMPAIGNING residents have lost their battle to have a weight limit imposed on a road used as a 'rat run' by heavy goods vehicles -- but will get a speed camera.

New Lane, Oswaldtwistle, is regularly used by lorry drivers who come off the M65 at junction five at Guide, drive down School Lane, Lottice Lane and Duckworth Hill Lane to get down New Lane to Accrington.

The matter has been raised at several area council meetings, with residents asking for a 7.5 tonnes weight restriction to deter heavier wagons.

But at a specially convened meeting on Tuesday they learned their requests had been denied by the county council.

Instead signs will be put up on the M65 encouraging lorry drivers heading for Accrington to come off at junction seven at Dunkenhalgh.

The speed limit will also be reduced from the national speed limit -- 60mph on a single carriageway road -- to 40mph from the top of Duckworth Hill Lane to the gateway to New Lane, where it will reduce to 30.

Funding has been agreed for the installation of a speed camera near the junction with Grove Street, but residents said it should be put at the top end of the road.

Insp Phil Cottam of Accrington Police said statistics revealed there had been more accidents at the bottom end over the last five years than at the top.

"The accident statistics on New Lane over the last five years are very low," he said.

"There have been 11 in total, seven at the bottom end near Grove Street, and only one involving a heavy goods vehicle. If we got rid of the 7.5 ton vehicles we would get more 3.5 ton vehicles so traffic would increase."

Coun Peter Britcliffe said: "I'm not very happy about the weight restrictions. I don't see why heavy vehicles shouldn't be banned. And there's a very strong feeling in the community that the speed camera is in the wrong place."

Ian Kime, principal road safety engineer for Lancashire County Council, said: "When people were looking into this they found there was a cluster of accidents at the bottom end on New Lane."

Bob Riley, who lives in New Lane, said traffic travelled along the road at speeds of more than 50 miles an hour.

"The police and county council have a road safety campaign. If we have traffic travelling at speeds of up to 55 miles an hour, we have to slow it some way."